What If The Storm Ends?
by Ricepaper.Butterfly
Summary: Starts at ep 4x7, filling in the blanks between the scenes shown, from Holly's point of view as she fell for Gail against her better judgement.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: This is the first time I have written anything in over two years, so go a little easy on me :P**_

_**I really love G/H stories that show what happened in between what was shown, so after reading every one of those I could find, I decided to write my own.**_

_**I do have to admit, this makes more sense if you've recently re-watched the Holly/Gail scenes. There are just subtle things like, in episode seven, when *spoiler* Sam comes in to look at the bones, and while Holly is showing him, Gail has the gloves on and she's pointing as well, like she knows, and I kind of explained the reason behind that, and jsut little things here and there. Anyway, I am super nervous about this, and it's probably terrible, but I hope you somewhat enjoy it.**_

Holly was captivated by Gail the moment she met her. Was it those electric blue eyes or the sharp quips that so flawlessly slipped off her tongue? Either way, from that first conversation, Holly found herself entirely intrigued.

She could feel the blonde officer watching her curiously as she examined the body, collected samples, moving methodically through her work. When she glanced backwards however the other woman quickly masked her intrigue with an expression of boredom, as though she was simply waiting impatiently to leave.

"I do apologize for keeping you waiting, officer," she called back sarcastically as she carefully bagged and tagged some more samples. The blonde rolled her eyes.

"They do this stuff much faster on television. But maybe that's because they're the top of their fields," she quipped back. Holly felt herself smirk.

"Because we _all_ know how realistic television shows are," she retorted, "I think I have everything I need." She directed her next comment to a member of the forensic team, "Could you have the bones carefully removed and taken back to my lab." As she began to make her way back up the slope, she found the blonde officer awkwardly following behind her.

"You're not going to ride with the bones? I thought you might find them more on your conversational level," Holly asked as she slowed a little the let the other woman catch up. She groaned a little internally as soon as she said, maybe that was too far? She had never been a good judge of these kinds of social protocols. The officer reached her side, casting an unfazed look across at her.

"It was a tough call, but they did smell just a little more than you do."

* * *

Holly turned the volume down a little as she pulled onto the winding road back towards the morgue. She could feel the eyes of the other woman critically analyzing her CD collection sitting below the stereo. The blonde wiggled a little on the leather seat.

"Nice car, being a lab nerd must pay well." Holly laughed.

"Work car, actually, although the pay isn't too bad," she conceded, glancing across to catch those icy blue eyes watching her again thoughtfully. The soft gaze quickly hardened as it met Holly's, but the brunette had already seen enough to see straight through the dull look of boredom that replaced it. Even with their expression so stern, those bright eyes still made her stomach twist just a little.

"Holly Stewart, is my name, by the way," she mentally kicked herself as she stumbled through the sentence. _This is why I only have two friends_. But she saw a hint of a smile play around the edges of the other woman's lips and any regret she had for her poorly phrased introduction melted away.

"I have not had so awkward an introduction since my mother tried to help me make friends on my first day of high school," the other girl quipped.

"Did you need a lot of help in that area?" Holly asked with a smirk.

"Gail" she responded to Holly's previous introduction and completely ignored her comment. The brunette smiled. _Gail_, she liked the sound of it.

"Do you always listen to classical music?" Gail asked.

"Would you prefer some mindless, commercial radio, top 40 pop?" Holly quirked her eyebrows, glancing across at the blonde questioningly. Gail grinned.

"Yes. Exactly." Raising a laugh out of Holly, who leaned forward, switching the stereo from CD to radio.

"You have free reign of the seek button. But if I hear Justin Bieber, I will be forced to change the channel."

"And miss out on me flawlessly wrapping Nicki Minaj's feature from Beauty and the Beat?" Gail shook her head, "Your call," she shrugged.

"I didn't really pick you for the white rapper type." Holly sniggered.

"I'm full of surprises."

"I'll bet."

* * *

As Detective Swarek and Detective Nash practically jogged back down the hall towards the exit, Holly glanced at Gail before pulling her focus back down to the bones in front of her, shifting the instrument slightly to gain the best angle.

"Having fun yet?" She couldn't stop herself from asking as she carefully inspected a section of the spine.

"Yea," Gail answered, more sincerely than Holly had expected, "It's all kind of interesting." Holly looked back up to catch those blue eyes as she replied.

"Careful there Gail, or I'll start to think you kind of like me." She raised her eyebrows suggestively, before laughing as she reached towards her tool tray.

"You're not so bad," the blonde admitted, and Holly felt a slight warmth in her cheeks before the other woman added, "for a nerd." She could feel her heart beating at an elevated pace inside her chest as she willed herself to reply, and preferably not too awkwardly.

"You're not so bad yourself, for a cop that is," she grinned. Gail shook her head, and returned her smile ruefully.

* * *

Gail finished making a call to the detective in charge and walked back over. Holly could feel her watching, much more openly than before, as she examined the bones. When she looked up, this time the blonde smiled.

"Come here," Holly motioned for the officer to stand next to her. Purely so she could better show her what she was doing, of course. Not in any way because she wanted Gail closer to her. She leaned over, and the other woman copied awkwardly, in an entirely endearing way.

"See just here," she pointed to a section on one of the bones. Gail looked, narrowing her eyes.

"I told you before, I just see bone," she muttered defensively, frowning.

"I don't expect you to see anything else yet. Do you have a medical degree?" The blonde shook her head, "I didn't think so. So, see here," she gently ran one gloved finger along the fracture in the worn bone as she explained carefully what it was and what it meant. Gail listened quietly, genuinely interested, taking it all in. As Holly continued explaining and showing Gail the main areas, the key things that were important, the blonde took it all in.

"So, do I get my own pair of gloves now?" she asked, "being your temporary assistant, and all." Holly laughed and pointed towards the box on her desk.

"Be my guest, but I warn you, the powder they use on the inside is a bitch to get off." She watch Gail carefully slide her petite hands into each blue plastic glove, wiggling each finger down and pulling therm down over her wrists, and felt the heat rising a little in her cheeks again before the blonde quipped her at,

"Is bitch the scientifically correct term?"

* * *

After Detective Swarek left her morgue for the second time that day, it occurred to Holly that maybe Gail's continued presence was at that point more voluntary than mandatory. How long did an officer really need to stay and oversee the examination on bones from ten years ago? She sometimes had officers stand by for important investigations, to relay information back to the team, it wasn't than unusual. But they didn't usually stay quite so long.

"Tea or coffee?" Gail asked, and Holly realized that without her noticing the blonde had made her way around to the other side of the table, standing next to the desk.

"You going somewhere?" she asked, hoping she didn't sound too concerned about that fact. Gail smiled.

"Vending machine, end of the hall. Don't worry, I'll be back shortly. You'll only have to miss me for ten or so minutes." She pulled her wallet out of one of the large pockets of her uniform coat, "My shout".

"Tea, no sugar, dash of milk," Holly replied. Why was she so entirely fascinated by this woman she had known for less than even a day? She watched Gail through the glass windows until she disappeared from sight, and shook her head. Since when did she, Holly Stewart, miss rational for as long as she could remember, turn to jelly over a girl who she wasn't even sure yet was interested in girls, let alone herself.

Ten minutes later Gail reappeared, staggering into the lab with a hot beverage in each hand, and packets of cheesy puffs, a chocolate bar, and an apple held precariously between her chest and her arms. Holly stopped what she was doing and hurried around towards her, discarding her plastic gloves as she did so, to alleviate her of some of her cargo.

"What on earth is all this?" she asked bemused.

"I thought you might be hungry, but I didn't know what you'd like," Gail told her as she allowed the brunette to carefully extract the hot Styrofoam cup of tea from her hand. She left the rest of the goods fall onto the desk, and stepped back to allow Holly first pick at her stash. Holly took a packet of cheesy puffs and leaned against the filing cabinet.

"Thanks." She blew gently on the top of her tea, and looked back up to find Gail assessing her.

"I honestly thought you'd go for the apple." She commented thoughtfully, before sipping her coffee. Holly smirked, mildly bemused. Did she even want to ask.

"And why is that?" She couldn't help herself. Everything about Gail intrigued her.

"Teachers pet. Red apple. You know," the blonde shrugged, "plus that dorky sweater doesn't do you much justice, but you look reasonably fit for someone who spends so much time in a dark morgue." The assessment showed more attention than Holly thought the blonde had bothered to pay to her, and she smiled, the right corner of her mouth lifting as she sipped her tea conservatively.

* * *

"Oh, I mean I hate people." Holly found herself completely enamored by this sarcastic, guarded, gorgeous blonde cop. The revelation should have put her off more. Gail was straight, that much was now clearer than ever. But she told herself that didn't matter, because what she needed right now wasn't a girlfriend, it was just a friend. That's what her therapist kept saying; "Try and make a new friend. Extend your boundaries. Do something different."

As she rounded the corner she found that Gail had stopped to wait for her to catch up.

"Come on slow poke, do you always walk at the pace of a snail?" the blonde asked as they continued down the hall.

"Only when I'm trying to avoid cops who have been stalking me all day," she replied. Gail smirked, but looked a little cut.

"I was _assigned_ to you Holly, don't flatter yourself," she retorted a little stiffly. As they reached the exit, she turned towards the carpark and found the blonde didn't follow, so she turned back around. Gail had stopped outside the doors, awkwardly shifting from one foot to the other.

"How are you getting home?" Holly asked as she took a step back towards her.

"I got a lift to the station with my roommate," Gail replied, avoiding eye contact, "where can I get a cab from near here?" Holly shook her head, and grabbed Gail gently by the arm.

"No way, I'm giving you a lift, come on," she smiled pulling the blonde in the direction of her car. Gail looked at her, expression stony.

"I wouldn't want you to think I was stalking you or anything." Holly grinned and shook her head.

"If anything, I'm far more stalker-like right now, as I am about to discover your home address." She tugged gently again, and this time Gail relented and followed.

"If I see who hanging around my street creepily without reason, I am a police officer, and I do own mace," the blonde retorted as they approach Holly's car. Holly let go of her arm, and walked around to the driver's side.

"Could you really mace this pretty face?" she batted her eyelashes at Gail as she turned the ignition. Gail smirked, but ignored the question.

"You do actually have a very nice car. I think this is nicer than the work car."


	2. Chapter 2

**_A/N: Today I am leaving on an 11 day cruise for my 21st birthday :) So although I plan to work on this while I am away, I am not certain of when I will be able to post the next chapter. 11 days would be the maximum though, if worst came to worst I would post it the day I got back, but depending on how much fun I have and how lazy I am to use the ice age slow internet, it could be earlier._  
**

_**Thank you so much to every single person who took the time to write a review or follow my story :) You are all boosting my ego greatly haha **_

_**I feel like the last chapter was a little clunky, so hopefully this one feels much more smooth.**_

* * *

.

"So, this is my place," Gail said awkwardly, sitting in the car, seat belt still clipped in. Holly squinted up through the windscreen, adjusting where her glasses sat on her nose to take it in fully. It was a slightly older building, not in that ugly, 'when did society ever think that looked good' kind of way, but in a way that gave the building a little bit of character. She decided that she liked it. As she looked back at Gail she found the other woman looking at her, almost shyly, if that was possible for one of the most brazen people she had met in a long time. She knew the officer was going to get out of the car, any minute now, and she had absolutely no reason to see her again.

"Can I borrow your phone for a second?" Holly asked, as subtly as she could manage. Gail looked dubious as she withdrew it from her coat pocket, holding the phone in her lap but making no effort to hand it over.

"What are you going to do? Change my background to some ridiculous picture? Because believe me, both my roommates have done that one before, and paid the price," Gail was trying to keep her expression serious, but the corners of her lips curled just slightly and gave her away. Holly reached over the console and quickly pulled the mobile out of her grip.

"I guess you'll have to wait and see," she replied mysteriously, wiggling her eyebrows at the blonde as she quickly moved her fingers over the keypad. It was dark in the car, and the light from the phone screen played over Holly's facial features as she worked hurriedly. She could tell that Gail was impatient, the officer was twitching her foot just slightly as she waited. When she finished she locked the screen and offered it back again. Gail placed her hand gently over the phone, her fingers brushing over Holly's palm as she recaptured the mobile. Holly felt herself gulp quietly.

"Well. Good night then, nerd." Gail grinned as she opened the car door to get out.

"Good night, officer." Holly watched the other girl ascend the steps to the front door of the building, taking a glance back at the car just as she pulled it closed behind her. The street was fairly quiet, maybe they all knew by now that several police officers were living just down from them. She waited a little longer, just to make sure Gail got in okay. She was about to pull out when her mobile phone lit up where it sat in the CD compartment. She picked it up and grinned when she saw the new text from an 'unknown' number.

'_Now you really are getting stalkerish_' read the message. Holly glanced up and saw one of the windows lit up, Gail's dark silhouette leant against the window frame, her coat obviously left at the door, her gentle curves highlighted by the position she stood in.

'_You checked to see if I'd left? I think you missed me already_' she replied quickly, before putting her car into reverse and slowly pulling out. As she reached the next set of lights she saw her phone light up again, and used all her will power to stop herself from checking it. She was texting a cop after all, how would that look? Texting and driving. By the time she reached her apartment she was dying to read the message, her foot falling a little too hard on the breaks and the car coming abruptly to a halt. She picked up the mobile and read as she blindly felt around for the bag she'd thrown into the back.

'_Says the person who left their number in my phone. Captain of the nerd squad?_' Holly can't remember the last time she was this giddy over a text message. She shook her head, heaving her bag over the console and stepping out onto the pavement.

'_Well I was going to put it under Captain Awesome, but I thought you might get my number confused with your own_'. Too flirty? She shook her head, stepping into the lift and hitting send. The texting continued as she entered her apartment, dropping her bag at the foot of her couch and collapsing back into the cushions.

'_Home yet? Where do you even live?_'

'_Yes, and wouldn't you like to know._'

'_It's the nice part of town, isn't it? I can tell by your car. Nobody has a car like that unless they live in the nice part of town_.'

'_What even is the nice part of town?_'

'_Only someone from the nice part of town would ask that._'

Holly giggled and dropped her phone onto the coffee table, dragging herself up off the couch to make dinner. When she finally returned to her spot half an hour later, with a large bowl of pasta, ready to settle in for another night of TV and early to bed, she saw another text from Gail.

'_Oh no_.' is all it read, most likely expecting a swift response, but it had been left unanswered for twenty minutes.

'_Oh no?_' Holly replied quizzically as she flipped channels. Gail's reply came almost immediately.

'_Way to leave me hanging, what if I had been kidnapped? or was being robbed at gunpoint?_'

'_I would like to hope your response to being robbed at gunpoint wouldn't be "oh no". What's the matter?_'

'_I left my last packet of cheesy puffs in your car_.'

'_That's your oh no? I can always return them to you on Monday_.' A perfect opportunity to see the her again.

'_But then what will I eat NOW?_' came the reply. Holly sat up a little, shoveling pasta into her mouth a bit faster.

'_Are you asking me to drive all the way back down to your place, to return your packet of cheesy puffs?_'

There was a pause as she waited for Gail's reply, in which time she finished off her pasta much faster then she probably should have eaten it.

'_Well. Yes._'

Holly paused at the front door as she stopped to grab her coat. Was she really about to drive back across town, after finally getting home from a long day at work, to return a packet of chips to a straight girl she'd only met that very same morning? The idea seemed ridiculous, but she convinced herself that she was just doing something different, 'extending her boundaries', and making a new friend. It was a long time since she'd last made a new friend, maybe this was entirely normal.

When she pulled back into Gail's driveway that same window was still lit up, and movement in the corner told her that the blonde has noticed her presence. She waited a moment before exiting the car, the driveway falling back into darkness as she closed and locked the door behind her. As she moved towards the front steps a light came on behind the glass door. It opened as she reached the top step, revealing Gail leant gracefully against the door frame. Her blonde hair was wet and loose around her shoulders and face, stray strands clinging to her face, and water still dripping intermittently from the tips onto her shoulders. She was wearing only a very baggy black t-shirt, branded with the logo of what looked like a heavy metal band, which stopped halfway down her pale thighs. Holly could feel heat flushing her cheeks and prayed they weren't turning red. She must have paused for longer than she realized, because Gail seemed to duck her head almost shyly.

"I didn't have time to put pants on, what would the city do if our best morgue nerd called in sick, all because I left you in the cold too long?" she quipped, motioning for Holly to come inside. The brunette stepped over the threshold. _Don't put on pants on my behalf_ she thought. Her nervous habit of babbling was rising to the surface.

"Did you know that wet hair in cold weather increasing chances of catching the common cold is actually an old wives tail? There is no conclusive evidence that cold temperatures increase our chances of catching any of the viruses that cause infection. The reason it is most common in winter is because the harsh weather causes people to stay indoors, where ventilation is restricted and proximity to infected friends and family members is increased," she rattled off instead. When she turned to look back at Gail the blonde was shaking her head and smiling.

"Thank you for that random factoid, nerd." She locked the door behind her and led the way, Holly trailing behind her.

"I was only mentioning this because your hair still appears to be wet, and the automatic response of my mother would have been to keep inside or you would catch a cold. But this isn't actually… correct." She was sure this time that her cheeks were slightly red, but Gail couldn't see this because she was walking in front of Holly, giving the brunette the perfect position to watch the soft white backs of her legs peeking out from underneath her t-shirt, only fuelling Holly's flustered and nervous state further. As they reached the living room Holly realized how quiet it was.

"Where are these famous roommates you speak of so frequently?" she asked, throwing the packet of cheesy puffs towards Gail, who seemed to have quite forgotten about the sole reason she had demanded Holly drive all the way over. The blonde grinned as she caught them, tearing open the packet and walking towards the fridge. Holly followed her over, leaning in the doorway.

"I came home to find a note saying Dov would be out till late, and Chris… doesn't actually live here anymore, sometimes I forget that," she informed her with a mouthful of cheesy puff as she yanked the fridge door open, "do you drink beer?" she pulled two out of the fridge and offered one to the other woman, smoothly removing the cap on her own by hitting it against the counter top in one swift movement at just the right angle. Holly took hers and fumbled for a moment with a bottle opener before Gail took it back and opened hers for her as well.

Several beers, two thirds of a pizza and a bad midnight movie later, Gail had fallen asleep on the lounge sometime a little after two am. Holly, starting to feel quite lethargic herself, quickly extricated herself from the couch and found a blanket in the cupboard, gently laying it over her. She looked so peaceful when she was sleeping, Holly bit her lip as she watched the blonde, before realizing how incredibly creepy it was to watch your new friend sleep. Luckily she had stuck to the one beer, or a very awkward sleepover would have commenced. She gulped down a large glass of water, left a note on the coffee table and left. But that night she lay in bed for another hour and a half, with thoughts of a blonde cop running through her head, before she finally fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**_A/N_: _Sorry for the ridiculously slow update, things have been crazy hectic since I got back from a totally amazing birthday cruise, but, I MAY HAVE A NEW APARTMENT. So yayyy! haha_**

**_But thank you so so so much to everyone who read and reviewed and followed, especially those incredibly kind people who left me sweet birthday wishes and told me to enjoy my cruise :)_**

**_Hope you guys are still enjoying this, and liking the route I'm taking so far._**

**EDIT: has decide to freak out on me and isn't showing chapter four at the moment, I have no idea why. If you are having issues then trying using this link for the mean time:**  
** /works/1069593/chapters/2229290**

**_.._**

It had been almost a week since Holly had left Gail asleep on her couch, and she had not seen her since. They texted at least once a day, sometimes much more. Holly had been in the office late at night eating takeout food at her desk and received a text from Gail who was at the Penny with all her friends, slightly inebriated, '_Your glasses are kind of cool you know. Like in a nerd way._' Or one night she had been lying in bed at night reading a new book and her phone lit up, '_Caterpillars are weird, weird creatures. They creep me out._'

'_Gail, why are you thinking about caterpillars?'_

'_There's one on my window sill, and I'm too scared to move it, but too scared to sleep in case it crawls into my mouth_.'

'_That's very unlikely_.'

'_Is that a scientific fact?_'

'_Would it make you feel better if it was?_'

'_Probably_.'

'_Then yes Gail, that's s scientific fact. Think you can sleep now?_' And she would never get a reply, because the blonde would have fallen asleep texting her, only to message her the next morning '_I slept on my phone and now I have the imprints of the keys on my cheek._'

One night she had been finishing up work when her phone went off. '_How wuld u feel about given g me a lift?_' She'd smiled, reading the text as she collected up her bags. '_From where?_' Ten minutes later she had been parking outside The Penny, in front of which stood Gail, a little bit drunk, grinning at her. She'd stopped the car, unclipped her seatbelt and got out.

"Are you sober enough to make it to the car, or do you need assistance?" she had quipped, shaking her head at the blonde.

"I can make it to the car, party pooper," Gail had insisted, wobbling momentarily when she walked but steadying herself as she reached Holly's side of the car. She'd placed a hand against the car door and leaned towards Holly smiling.

"Thank youuuu," she'd chirped. Holly had taken her by the hand and led her around to the passenger side. When she felt Gail interlink their fingers as they walked around the bonnet her heart rate had quickened nervously. She quickly pulled her hand free, making as though she was doing so to open the car door. The blonde smirked.

"Such a gentleman," as she stepped into the car, "Holly?" she'd quickly piped up as Holly went to shut the door. Holly stopped and leaned in and the blonde had, in a most sober and sincere manner, smiled up at her.

"But really, thank you." The brunette's stomach twisted and she tried to brush it off.

"What was I supposed to do, leave a pretty blonde girl to walk home in the dark on her own?" what was supposed to be a flippant blow off ended up a compliment. How did that happen?

"You think I'm pretty?" Gail had asked, grinning almost triumphantly, "Why nerd, I think you have taken quite a shine to me."

"Says the girl who texts me almost every day," Holly had retorted and closed the car door, walking back around to the drivers side and climbing in.

"What exactly did you do that left you with not a single friend to come and pick you up, that you had to resort to me?" she asked as she put the car into reverse and carefully pulled out. She was expecting a usual Gail answer, the kind she would have received that first day when they met.

"Nothing. I asked you first." Which shut Holly up completely for the next ten minutes, while Gail sung along softly to the radio, to some of the most terrible songs she could find, until she finally managed to make Holly laugh.

Holly had dropped Gail at home, walking her to the front door, and made her promise that she would go upstairs, drink a large glass of water and then put herself straight to bed.

"Yes nerd, I promise," the blonde rolled her eyes dramatically, "stop being such a worry wart. A couple of drinks never did anybody any harm."

"That's factually incorrect, but also, I'm not entirely sure that I believe it was only a couple of drinks," Holly quipped, raising her eyebrows. Gail took Holly's hand, squeezing it gently.

"I think it's past your bed time nerd." Her thumb brushed over Holly's palm, tracing the main crease, and the brunette had no idea what to do, but she knew that she wanted to kiss her, and she knew that was the last thing she should do. So she laughed, and pulled her hand away a little bit too hard, causing Gail to stumble forward towards her. Her blue eyes caught the streetlight, that dirty yellow colour dancing through them, and then she moved away, back towards the door, her gaze turning slightly steely, like she was putting a guard up.

"Goodnight nerd."

"Goodnight Gail."

She hadn't slept much at all that night.

The next morning, at almost midday, she had received a text. '_Never drinking again. Sorry if I sung in front of you_.' Like nothing at all had happened. Like that had been an entirely normal occurrence of a friend giving another drunk friend a lift home. So Holly had chalked it up to being exactly that, and quickly shut down the feelings that had been starting to build through a restless night of overthinking.

After that, she _had_ wanted to see Gail, but every time they tried something got in the way. Holly was in the middle of working some evidence for a big case from another precinct, and the few times she was free, Gail was busy. Holly was almost glad in a way though, if only for the reason that maybe this would give her a chance for this silly crush to settle before she went and did something stupid to ruin their budding friendship.

It was fairly late in the afternoon and Holly was at work. The case she'd been working on was settled from the moment, the perp caught, and her involvement now finished pending trial. So she was filling in time, finalizing backlogged paperwork and other, more mundane aspects of her job, when she heard her mobile vibrating on the thick wood of her desk. She reached up absentmindedly and grabbed it from next to the computer screen, to find she has a new message from Gail.

'_Ugh. I have to go to my bosses wedding tonight. I hate weddings_.'

Holly smirked and quickly typed back. '_Do you have a date to help endure the suffering with you?_' She knew she was towing the line, but couldn't help herself. This time, when her phone went off again, her eyes jumped immediately to the screen.

'_Depends, are you free tonight?_' Her mouth suddenly felt dry.

'_Are you asking me to be your plus one, officer?_'

'_I'm asking you to meet me at the bar, and attempt to keep me mildly sane tonight_.' As Holly was contemplating her reply, another message came through. '_Please._'

'_Open tab? I'm in._'

And so it was that Holly had found herself rushing home to raid her closet for something to wear. Something not too casual, but not too formal. She picked up a plaid shirt and shook her head, not too gay either. Since when did she care so much? She couldn't remember the last time she spent so long picking out an outfit.

Holly had still managed to arrive at the wedding earlier than the agreed time. She walked in, took one look at the hall full of guests, most likely all friends of Gail's, and most of whom she had barely ever spoken too, and began to feel nervous and a little out of place. The bar, where she had agreed to meet Gail, was surrounded by officers ordering beers and champagne and chatting loudly. She fidgeted with the lapels of her jacket for a moment awkwardly, and then walked quickly towards the coat check room. When she found it empty, the attendant nowhere in sight, she hung her own coat, and turned around to find a man waiting behind her with his own outstretched. Trying to avoid awkwardness, she took the coat from him, smiling politely, when he placed a twenty on the desk.

"Take good care of it for me," he smiled at her. Holly fumbled with the tags left sitting on the desk, pulling off a ticket and handing it to him. Ten minutes later she'd found she was still in the coat room, hanging jackets for guests, an effective system in pace and all of the coats arranged carefully by time of arrival. The sense of order made her feel calmer, a nervous habit she'd had since primary school when on her first day she'd arranged her colored pencils according to the rainbow song and her lead pencils according to length.

She took a seat while she waited for the next guest to arrive, picking up a book from the table and mindlessly scanning the pages, when Gail walked in, in that stunning gold dress, and her breath caught a little, and she kicked herself mentally. _How did I ever think this was a good idea considering my current emotional and physical attraction to this woman?_

Gail, in what Holly was beginning to understand was a usual Gail manner, walked in guard up, with a demeanor of mild agitation and dull boredom at even the idea of the night ahead.

They left the coat room and made a beeline straight for the bar at Gail's insistence, despite Holly's attempt to get her on the dance floor, squeezing in between a couple of officers donned in smart tuxedoes. Gail was pressed up against Holly's side as they leaned on the stone counter top and tried to grab the server's attention.

"What's your poison?" Gail asked her as they waited, raising her eyebrows, her face close to Holly's in the limited space. The words were warm breath that touched Holly's lips, and she gulped, and turned her face and body away from the bar out towards the dance floor. She spotted a waiter, round tray precariously poised on one hand and piled high with champagne flutes.

"Well it is a wedding, maybe we should go the classy route?" she nodded her head towards them. Gail followed the gesture and smiled.

"Champagne does seem appropriate." She stepped away in the direction of the drinks, her hand slipping around Holly's wrist as she did so and pulling the brunette with her. Holly let herself be led, and a drink placed in her hand, the warm grip on her wrist replaced with cold glass against her palm.

"Bottoms up!" Gail downed her glass in three gulps, and so Holly followed suit as the blonde retrieved two more from the waiter, replacing Holly's empty glass with a full one as soon as she'd finished.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were trying to get me drunk," Holly smirked as she raised the second glass to her lips. Gail laughed, a small flush of pink just touching the top of her cheek bones. Holly wasn't sure if it was from the question, or the champagne, but presumed it was most likely the latter.

"I'm trying to get us both drunk," Gail replied, leading Holly over to a more quiet corner of the room and leaning back against the wall. Holly couldn't help but notice the way the position highlighted the blonde's body. She pulled her mind away from the train of thought before it went too far, and focused herself on Gail's thoughtful gaze.

"Do you dislike weddings because, like me, you find the whole social ritual to be an awkward and unpleasant event filled with far too much interaction, or some other reason?" Holly asked casually. She disliked weddings much the same as she disliked a variety of other large social gatherings. Interaction especially in large numbers and with a great number of people she knew very little if at all was slightly anxiety causing and awkward. She suspected that while Gail shared this notion to a degree, maybe there was something else behind her strong dislike of weddings.

"Is it something to do with your cat analogy and the most recent relationship which I'm guessing was the catalyst for the breakthrough metaphor?" she asked bluntly, when Gail paused for longer than she could patiently wait for an answer. The blonde shook her head, smiling ruefully at her.

"Holly, when you get me drunk enough, I will divulge in you all my deepest darkest secrets, including that one. Until then, you are here to be my entertainment, not my therapist," she informed her.

"Is that so?"

"Yes," Gail laughed, "now, you have ten more minutes to attempt to convince me to dance, before the ceremony starts." Holly grinned, finishing her second champagne, the bubbly liquid buzzing as it went down her throat and filled her stomach with warmth. She placed the glass on the nearest table, and took Gail by the hand, dragging her back towards the dance floor while the blonde giggled and mildly tried to resist.

"Well how are you going to say no, once you see my killer dance moves?"

"Like what, nerd? Please don't tell me you do the shopping trolley."

"The shopping trolley is a classic move! But I was thinking a little more Elvis, maybe some Michael Jackson?" she attempted to moonwalk, very awkwardly, bumping into another guest and turning beetroot red as she apologized repeatedly. Gail was giggling so hard that by the time Holly turned around, the blonde's eyes were starting to tear up. She smiled sheepishly, and Gail smiled back.

"Way to show me your killer moves, nerd, almost literally. At least the autopsy would be an easy one, death by tragic dance moves."


	4. Chapter 4

**_A/N_: _Sorry for the incredibly late update, things are a bit crazy._**

**_I really hope that you guys still like the direction this is going in. Any feedback you do have though is totally welcome :)_**

**_Hope you all had a great Christmas! Thank you to all those amazing people who left reviews. And have a great new year._**

**_..._**

The problem with champagne, as Holly had discovered at her cousin's eighteenth birthday when she was sixteen and allowed to toast, was that it went straight to her head. It seemed that it affected her just as strongly now as it had then. She wagered that was the reason she felt brave enough to have her hand sitting on the back of Gail's chair for most of the ceremony, to touch her lightly as they giggled over this and that, to lean slightly in towards her as they watched the couple exchange their vows. She wasn't drunk, far from it yet, but just two glasses and her judgment was certainly impaired.

As the service came to a close and the couple announced for everyone to move to the dance floor, she turned towards Gail, catching the soft smile on her face and the look in her eye.

"I don't think you hate weddings as much as you thought you did. I think Gail is turning into a bit of a sap," she teased, poking the blonde in the ribs. Gail shooed her away, grabbing her hand to stop her attack and using it to pull Holly along with her as she stood up.

"Maybe I just have good company," she replied, facing away from Holly so that the brunette couldn't see her face. Holly caught up with her as they moved between the crowd exiting the seating area towards the dance floor and the drinks. She elbowed Gail lightly as they walked beside each other.

"Are you calling me good company?" she grinned, and in nervous habit went to push her glasses back up her nose before realizing they weren't there. Gail shrugged noncommittally, striding out in front of her towards the bar, before commenting back behind her.

"You _are_ mildly entertaining." Holly shook her head and followed, leaning against the counter top next to the blonde as the server walked over.

"Champagne, please," Gail smiled at him sweetly. Holly loved this Gail, giddy and giggly, just as much as she loved the sultry, sulky, sarcastic one who always had something to say. She was so caught up in the other woman's complete adorableness, that she almost forgot to order, until the blonde turned to face her, smirking.

"Are you going to order, nerd? Or just stare at me all day?" she teased.

"Sorry, I think you have something in your teeth," Holly replied quickly, trying to pull off the most flippant expression she could muster, before turning to the server, "which red wines do you have?" When she glanced back at Gail, the blonde was running her finger nail down the small gap in between her front teeth.

Once they had received their drinks they walked back to the dance floor, where the crowd was starting to gather, sipping and talking. Holly decided that she loved making Gail laugh. She had always been a little self conscious of her own laugh, but she forgot about that completely when she was with Gail, who seemed to make her laugh frequently, especially tonight. A woman standing near to them called out first dance, and the newly married couple moved into the centre of what had become a circle of people, and she and Gail moved around to watch. Gail had this smile on her face as she watched them, Holly couldn't help herself.

"Admit it, you have a new found love of weddings," she teased, "Are you imagining yourself, on your wedding day, all dressed in white, having your first dance?" she added, holding her wine glass elegantly in one hand. She swirled it around before taking a sip, as she waited for Gail to reply. The blonde was shaking her head wryly.

"I don't think that's me," Gail replied, shooting her a pointed glance, "Maybe I'm just not the relationship type." She shrugged as though she could care less, whilst her tone said the opposite. Holly frowned.

"Nope, we will have none of this sadsack nonsense. It's time for you to dance!" she put her wine glass down on the closest table, and removed Gail's champagne glass from her hand, depositing it next to her own. The blonde rolled her eyes as she was dragged onto the dance floor, which people were now starting to move on to.

"Who under the age of sixty uses the phrase 'sadsack'?" But before she knew it, after Holly practically begging, she let loose, and danced. Holly wasn't quite sure what she expected, certainly not the awkward sidestep bop she used to do when she was younger, but Gail's dance moves were ridiculous. When she decided she didn't care what people thought, she honestly didn't care. Their dance was cut short when Holly began laughing so hard she gave herself a stitch, and Gail huffed at her for mocking her moves, and dragged her back over to the bar, left unattended, where she managed to pinch a whole bottle of champagne.

Gail led her back to the coatroom, still unattended as well. A fleeting thought crossed Holly's minds about irony and closets as Gail took a seat on the floor amongst the coat racks, grinning up at her. She had pulled a large, furry jacket of its hanger and placed it around her shoulders.

"Hollyyyyyy, join me," the blonde practically whined, patting the spot next to her. Holly laughed, shaking her head as sat down and stole the champagne bottle from her hand. She was going to _need_ more champagne if Gail was going to keep being so adorable. She took a large swig of the bottle.

"I don't think I've ever had a lesbian friend before." Holly almost spat the champagne back out, choking on it momentarily before swallowing it down hard. She hadn't quite been expecting that. Gail had not batted a single eyelash about her sexuality since she mentioned it that first day, and it had been kind of nice how it had been such a nonissue. '_Oh here it comes_' Holly thought, '_The classic straight girl thing_.' She had to stop herself from sighing as she turned back towards the blonde, but then the look of mild intrigue on Gail's face stopped her thoughts dead in her tracks. There was just something different about her, that Holly couldn't put her finger on.

"Oh really?" Holly asked her casually, "That's so funny, I though 70% of female cops were lesbians?" she teased. Gail hit her lightly on the arm. She pursed her lips for a second, and for a flash there was the expression on her face of almost nervousness, like she was trying to find the courage to ask something. And then it was gone again, replaced with casual inquiry, like she was only asking questions to make conversation. Holly watched it all play out over her features, her stomach tightening.

"So what is it like, in a relationship between two girls?" Gail asked her, playing with the hem of a coat next to her. Holly smirked, taking another long mouthful of champagne to make Gail wait. The bubbles coursed down her throat and popped and gurgled down into her stomach, leaving a warm tingling sensation, heat coursing over her skin as the light alcohol seeped into her bloodstream.

"It's…. not that different, to with a guy. It all depends on the people involved. Obviously. But I guess there are small differences. It's been a while though, I'll admit, since I was in a serious relationship," she replied slowly.

"Okay. So, when you go on a date, who pays?" Gail asks, "The butch one?" she's smiling as she adds this, and Holly can tell she's only baiting her, so she glares at her playfully.

"That is incredibly old fashioned and stereotyped logic." She is responding, but Holly is watching Gail, observing the way the lighting is catching her blue eyes, which look brighter today. She is watching the cute facial expressions she makes while she talks, the way her eyebrows furrow, and her lips form words. Her lips. God, what she would give to kiss her, even just once. Gail is starting to ramble now, which is slightly uncharacteristic, and it's completely adorable, and as she is going on, all Holly is thinking is how badly she wants to just kiss her. So then when she bites back, in classic Gail fashion, to Holly's taunt, her eyes guarded and her mouth frowning grumpily, Holly can't help herself, and she leans forward and kisses her.

It's a short kiss, chaste, she presses her lips against Gail's and then pulls back almost immediately. The most surprising part of it all is _not_ how gentle Gail's mouth is. It isn't the electric shock that seems to course through Holly's body, starting as a spark on her lips and ending in her stomach. The most surprising part is that Gail, just for a moment, kisses her back. Holly finds herself laughing at the slightly stunned look on Gail's face.

"You are insane, you know that right?" she quips, as though Gail is the crazy one, not her, who just kissed her new straight friend and has possibly ended that whole relationship in one stupid champagne fueled moment. But maybe if she plays this off, as no big deal, that's exactly what it will be. She rises to her feet, bottle still in hand.

"I'm gunna take this with me, if you don't mind? Plenty more out there."

As Holly walked out of the wedding reception, bag slung over her shoulder, half empty bottle of champagne still in one hand, she wanted to kick herself. Did she really just kiss Gail and then walk straight out? Maybe that was better though, then the awkward 'What does this mean? You know I don't swing that way, right?' conversation that would inevitably follow. This way it could remain the "remember that time at that wedding when you got so tipsy on cheap champagne you kissed me in the coatroom" story of their friendship. Not a big deal. Not something she was replaying over and over in her head as she waited for a taxi.

And waited. And waited. Holly was a particularly patient person, but she was itching to get in a car and leave the wedding as soon as possible, in order to put distance between herself and Gail. After twenty minutes she was seriously considering walking some of the way. Just as she was about to give up she heard heels clicking on the pavement behind her.

"I thought you left to go dancing," came Gail's voice behind her. She felt the blonde's fingers graze the back of her hand as she stood next to her, as though the had gone to hold it and then changed her mind at the last minute. Holly looked across at her, keeping her expression as calm as possible, but she could feel a warm blush touching the top of her cheek bones.

"I have been waiting for a taxi this whole time. My dancing buzz has died completely, now I would just like to go home and crawl into bed," she admits, shaking her head and looking back towards the road in vain hope of sighting a yellow taxi appearing out of the dark night. Nothing.

"Want a lift?" Gail asks, raising her eyebrows.

"I think you've had too much to drink to be driving, officer," Holly grins, shaking her head. The blonde pauses a moment, as if assessing the situation.

"That's true. Fancy a midnight walk then?" she asked, "I don't think there's going to be a cab any time soon, not with the party still raging on in there. I think I saw Dov and Chloe doing shots..." she sounded disturbed by this prospect, Holly didn't bother to enquire further, she had heard one or two venting conversations from Gail about Chloe, enough to know that if she queried she would end up getting an earful about overly chipper and obnoxious. She had an inkling that Chloe must have done something more than simply smile too much in order for Gail to dislike her as much as she did.

"Sure." She started to walk down the driveway towards the street, with Gail next to her. It was chilly, and feeling goosebumps crawling across her skin she began to wonder if it _was_ such a good idea, when she felt a coat placed over her shoulders. She glanced across at Gail, now stripped back to her gold dress shimmering in the dark. The blonde was watching the road, expression completely placid, as though she hadn't just taken off her own jacket and given it to Holly.

"You want to watch you don't catch a cold," Holly commented, bumping her shoulder against Gail's playfully. The blonde smirked up at her.

"I thought cold weather couldn't be directly linked to the spread of the common cold, nerd." _Touche_, Holly thought to herself, but still couldn't help the slightly protective feeling she was getting towards the blonde.

"Have you been listening to everything I say all along?" She can sense Gail's hand hanging next to hers as they walk, a hairs breadth apart as they swing slightly with each step, almost touching, but never quite closing the distance.

"When someone talks as much as you do, I'm bound to take in something they say," the blonde quipped. They had walked a fair way from the hotel by now, at least two blocks further into the city, towards the main streets where a cab was much more common.

"Ugh, I just know that Dov is going to be bringing Chloe back to our apartment tonight. Ew. Nerd sex. How disgusting," she pulls a face, and Holly laughs.

"Am I included in that? Being a nerd and all," she asks, raising her eyebrows. Now that is towing the line. Gail's expression is unreadable as she looks down the street, as though trying to spot a taxi in the distance.

"Well I wouldn't know. It was only a kiss, Holly." She feels her cheeks burn at the reply, and turns the other way in the hopes that Gail wont see, when she feels the other woman's hand, small and soft, take hold of her own, pulling her back towards the blonde.

"I think I see a taxi," Gail tells her, one hand out flagging the cab down, the other still firmly holding onto Holly's. The car pulls up and Gail opens the back door, sliding inside, but keeping a grip on Holly's hand the entire time, despite how entirely impractical it is. The brunette slides in next to her onto the worn material seats. The inside of cabs smell like a thousand different indescribable things, not nice but usually not unpleasant, just... indescribable. Tonight however Holly can only smell the scent of Gail's perfume wafting around her. It's sweet, almost flowery but not quite.

"Holly?" Gail asks impatiently, as though she has asked before and gone unheard, "What's your address?" she asks. Holly quickly rattles it off and does up her seatbelt, one handed.

"I knew it was on the nice part of town," Gail is grinning at her, incredibly close, still holding her hand. Holly can just slightly smell the alcohol on her breath, she did after all have a few more glasses of champagne than Holly did, it mingles with her perfume.

"Are you ever going to tell me about this cat, tree, boyfriend story, over which you had the epiphany in my morgue?" Holly asks her as the cab starts exiting the main part of the city in the direction of her apartment. Gail would usually blow this question off with any multitude of quips or comments, or simply answer 'no' in a childish manner, flashing her a smile, and changing the subject completely. This time she pauses a moment. Maybe she is finally drunk enough to tell the story, like she said, or maybe she finally trusts Holly enough to divulge in her something a secret, something that makes her vulnerable.

"My last boyfriend..." she starts, pauses again, sounding uncomfortable, but then takes a deep breath, "went in deep undercover with one of my best friends, fell in love with her, stayed with me anyway, and then when I found out, I didn't know how to break up with him, so I slept with someone else and then told him about it, so that he'd break up with me." Holly wasn't quite sure what to say.

"Oh. Wow. I have never quite had a breakup story that good." She felt stupid as soon as she said it, but it seemed to make Gail smile, if only for a second. She squeezed the blonde's hand gently.

"Well it really sounds like it was _all_ his fault," she added. Gail laughed.

"Well obviously." But she didn't seem convinced of that at all.

As the car pulled up outside Holly's apartment block, she didn't really want to get out. Opening the door she climbed out onto the side walk, and turned back to find Gail following after her. The blonde leant back in towards the driver.

"Leave the meter running, I'll be right back, I'm just walking her in," she told him before closing the door. She shrugged when she looked back and saw Holly's questioning gaze.

"You are _quite_ the gentleman, aren't you, Officer," she teased as they walked into the lobby. Gail simply rolled her eyes, pressing the up button and leaning against the wall casually.

"I was raised quite well mannered, if _that's_ what you mean," Gail informed her, just before the elevator doors opened and they both stepped in. Holly leant against the back wall, and the blonde leant next to her, their elbows touching. As the floors went past she began to feel nervous, though she wasn't sure why, her stomach twisting and flipping. When they reached her floor and stepped out she noticed Gail seemed to look a little awkward also, following her to her apartment door.

"Thank you for walking me to my door. I feel quite safe," Holly felt stupid as soon as she'd said it, quite safe? Who said that? That was not how you seduce a straight girl. Quite safe. Ugh, she wanted to bang her head against the wall.

"Thank you for being my plus one, I'm not sure I would have made it through the wedding without you." Gail was fidgeting slightly with her hands.

"Goodnight, officer." Holly smiled. _That was much more smooth_. She was feeling quite proud of herself, until the blonde pushed up onto her toes, leaning forward, and kissed her. Not like the coatroom kiss. Not small and chaste. Gail's hand snaked around the back of Holly's neck. Her tongue brushed Holly's, and then she slowly pulled back, and Holly could see straight into those electric blue eyes. Gail looked incredibly confused.

"Goodnight nerd." She pulled back as fast as she'd moved forward, and suddenly she was completely outside of Holly's personal bubble, and then she was walking away, towards the elevators. Holly wanted to go after her, to ask her what the hell that was. She stopped herself though, she waited till the blonde was out of sight, and then she put her key in the door, and walked inside. She left the lights off, and kicked her shoes into a corner, dropped her bag and coat onto the foot of the lounge. What the hell _was_ that? She had gone from thinking she knew exactly what was going on, just classic Holly crushing on a straight girl who would never think of her as anything more than that, to now... having no idea what to think. She should've know from that first day that Gail Peck was going to make her head spin.


	5. Chapter 5

**_A/N_: _Thank you so so much for all your incredibly sweet comments and reviews. Hope you guys had a great new years eve! I am in my new apartment, but have no internet hooked up yet, so I am currently mooching off my girlfriend's mobile to upload this. _**

Holly knew Gail well enough to decide that she should wait and let the blonde text her first if she didn't want to freak her out. She knew that, but after two days without a single word she was starting to go crazy. On day three she couldn't stop herself from at least sending something. She wouldn't mention the kiss of course, either of them, she'd just send something mundane. She picked up the red coat still sitting on the end of her couch, arranged it neatly, took a photo on her phone and sent it to Gail with the text '_If you want to receive your coat back in one piece, leave two hundred dollars in a brown paper bag in the George St Diner by 7pm tonight_'. She smirked to herself at her own wit, and then slumped down onto the couch with the phone in one hand and the TV remote in the other and waited. Twenty minutes later she'd just about given up, settling in to an old episode of Waking The Dead on repeat, when her phone went off.

'_Are you trying to blackmail a cop? I thought you were smart, nerd_.' Holly felt herself grin as she read the reply.

'_Bring the police into this, and I will have no choice but to kill the coat._'

'_I don't think you will. I have a hostage of my own. You do realise you left your own coat at the wedding, right? Tracy gave it to me to give back to you_.'_  
_

'_Maybe we should arrange a swap. Are you free tonight?_' Holly nervously fidgeted with her glasses. Maybe she was pushing it, but she wanted to see Gail so badly, three days was too long. Three days of thinking and pondering over and remembering in vivid detail that kiss in the hallway. The feel of Gail's mouth, her tongue, those fingers brushing the back of her neck. She got shivers down her spine. Her phone went off again, breaking the trance.

'_Some of us actually have to work, Holly_.' Ouch. What was that? Holly frowned, reading the message a second time. Gail could certainly bite when she was feeling defensive.

'_And do you not have a single break in your busy schedule, in which I could drop by to switch coats?'_

'_You know my coat is much nicer than yours, maybe you should keep it, add a bit of flair to your wardrobe?_' The brunette smirked, turning off the television and sitting up a little._  
_

'_Red may look stunning on you, but it makes _me_ look like little red riding hood_.' She dropped the phone onto her coffee table and stood up, giving up on the idea of seeing Gail tonight, and heading into the kitchen. It looked like she'd be cooking dinner for one, again. She should have known that the kiss meant nothing. She turned on the stove top, after several failed attempts to get the gas working it finally started up and stayed. She was putting the rice on when she heard her phone go off in the other room. It took a large amount of self restraint not to run back into the living room, but she forced herself to stir the pot once, and then casually walk back in, as though Gail would somehow be able to tell if she was too anxious to read her reply.

'_You thought I looked stunning? Nerd, I think you have a bit of a crush on me. I have a date tonight, maybe tomorrow?_' Holly felt a lump form in her throat. Did Gail really just say both those things in the one text message? Her stomach twisted, not in the giddy way it did when Gail smiled at her or trailed her fingers up her arm absentmindedly, but in a jealous way. It was a cold sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She started texting back, but stopped herself. If Gail couldn't go two days without saying a word to her, she could do the same back. She left the mobile on the couch and went back to her dinner._  
_

One home made stir fry and three reruns later, Holly was slumped on the couch with a file open in front of her, working on a small case from 15th. Dov had been the officer on duty, and his notes were incredibly amusing to read due in part, but not entirely, because of his awkwardly placed spelling mistakes. It was dark and the only light she had on was a small lamp next to her, her glasses slipping down the bridge of her nose as she made out his scrawled handwriting. Suddenly a knock came at the door. She wasn't expecting anyone, and in fact, who on earth would be at her door this late at night? She put the file down on the coffee table and got up, walking to the entrance and peering through the peep hole cautiously. Through the small hole, in its slightly warped vision, she could see Gail, dressed in a fitting black shirt, a thick black coat, makeup done, hair pulled back neatly, scuffing her foot impatiently on the carpet. She unlatched the lock and opened the door.

"Hi," she pushed her glasses up her nose again. Gail walked in, right past her and took a seat on the lounge, making herself comfortable.

"I have just been on possibly the worst date of my _life_," she announced dramatically with a groan. Holly felt happier about this than she probably should have. She closed the door and took a seat on the coffee table.

"Sure Gail, come on in," she used her most sarcastic tone, raising her eyebrows incredulously at the blonde splayed out on her couch. Blue eyes pierced her own.

"He had an English accent, but he only lived there for two years. Two Holly. What kind of pompous asshole does that? ugh." Much as she wanted to feign mild indifference, Holly couldn't help but laugh.

"Wow, that really is awful." Gail looked up at her.

"You're telling _me_. Why do I let my mother set me up? I should have known this was a bad idea, just like it was last year." The blonde's neat hair was starting to come undone, small strands pulling their way free and falling around her pale face.

"You let your mother set you up?" Holly was bemused, "Don't you hate your mother?" Gail rolled her eyes.

"Technically, yes, but, I don't know, I thought maybe it would be a good idea," she mumbled, "Do you have coffee? I would love a hot, non-festive, coffee right about now." The brunette shook her head and rose to her feet. What an incredibly deflective answer, how very Gail.

"I think I can manage that." Whilst the kettle was boiling she leant back around the corner, to find Gail was standing by her bookshelf, reading the spine of every novel and magazine, running her fingers along them. She had that look again, suddenly serious when nobody was looking, like she had that day in the morgue, just taking it all in thoughtfully. Holly retreated quietly back into the kitchen.

"Sugar?" she called out, hoping she wouldn't startle the blonde from her trance.

"Three," Gail replied distractedly.

When Holly came back out, two steaming mugs of coffee in her hands, she found the other woman standing by the small mantle. It took her a moment to realise what she must be doing there, and when it dawned on her, her cheeks started to flush.

"I don't think you want to look at those," she urged, moving forward to place the mugs down on the coffee table. Gail looked back at her, smirking.

"Is this you?" she asked, holding the picture up. From inside the frame grinned a lanky thirteen year old, with pretty eyes and braces with bright green bands. Holly's cheeks were red as she tried, and failed, to snatch it back off Gail. The blonde held it behind her back.

"So you _were_ always a nerd, huh?" she teased, glancing back at the picture, "A pretty cute one though," she added, winking. Holly's blush, if possible, deepened. She stepped forward into Gail's personal space, attempting to grab it, and finding her body pressed up against the blonde's. Gail suddenly gave in and handed it back. The glass was slightly dusty, and Holly wiped it and put it on the mantle again.

"Where you by any chance in the school band?" Gail asked her, sitting down on the couch and picking up her cup of coffee. The brunette took a seat next to her, blowing gently on the top of her coffee before taking a long sip.

"Yes." she replied, against her better judgement, and waited for the mockery.

"So was I," Gail replied, much to her surprise. She obviously noticed the slightly stunned look on Holly's face, because she laughed and put her cup back down for a moment, shrugging and adding, "tuba, just to add to the embarrassment of it all. Believe me, not my own choice. Apparently it's a long running tradition in the Peck family." At this she rolled her eyes dramatically.

"I never would have picked it," Holly laughed, shaking her head, mug of coffee clasped between her hands, "Maybe we would have been friends in high school after all." The blonde gave her a quizzical look at the last comment, so she felt the need to sheepishly add, "I was just thinking the other day, that if we had gone to the same high school I didn't think you would have even noticed me, never mind befriended me. Maybe I was wrong."

"Oh no, I definitely would have been too cool for you," Gail teased, "this is _me_ we're talking about." Holly had to laugh, only Gail would come out with such a response.

"You know it could be interpreted as a little self absorbed to have pictures of yourself on your mantle," the blonde nudged her knee gently, sipping on her coffee. Those blue eyes were twinkling mischievously, in that adorable way they seemed to do whenever she was mocking Holly. The brunette smiled, glancing over at the photograph again.

"My mother took it of me on my birthday," she replied slowly, as though this was a sufficient explanation. Gail wasn't so easily pleased, and prodded further.

"You must like your mother, because I would never display a picture of myself for the reason of my mother having taken it," the other woman laughed at the idea, and then looked back to Holly, the smile suddenly dropping from the corners of her mouth when she seemed to realise maybe there was a serious reason for it then.

"We were very close when I was growing up," Holly murmured fondly, staring into her coffee cup. The room suddenly felt quiet, and when she looked back up the other girl was watching her, expression quite serious. Those eyes could be so electric one moment and so haunting the next. Gail reached out and placed her hand softly on Holly's knee. The touch felt soothing, unlike previous contact with Gail which had been electric and stomach clenching, this touch was comforting. The brunette smiled softly and shook her head.

"So tell me more about Gail Peck playing the tuba," she insisted, and Gail seemed to catch on that she didn't want to talk about this any more tonight, and went along quite willingly with the sudden subject change.

"Well for one, it was almost as big as I was."

...

Another cup of coffee and a slightly hyper Gail later it was almost midnight, and her and Holly were still sitting on Holly's couch. The blonde was in the midst of explaining how she had once taken part in the birthing of a child, when Holly noticed the time.

"Crap," she muttered at a pause in Gail's dramatic narrative, "I didn't realize how late it was." The blonde looked back behind her at the clock on the wall and cringed.

"Ugh, I do not know how I am going to sleep after all that caffeine," she whined. Even as she said this she was fidgeting with her hands as they sat in her lap. Holly leaned forward and put her own hands on top of them to keep them still.

"I can tell," she laughed, "This is the second time I have ever seen you fidget so much, you're usually little miss stoic." Gail looked up at her, head ever so slightly tilted to the left, and suddenly Holly felt her heart thud a little heavier as she realized she was sitting on her couch in the middle of the night with Gail, holding the other woman's hands, their faces only inches apart.

"What other time have you ever seen me fidget?" Gail asked, raising her eyebrows. The brunette felt herself blush when she remembered that one other instance, and suddenly wished she had kept her mouth firmly shut. She pulled her hands back away from the blondes and started to get to her feet.

"Don't distract me, you need to get home missy, don't you have plans with Tracy tomorrow?" she changed the subject as she collected the empty mugs off the coffee table and took them into the kitchen. Behind her she heard Gail groan loudly and flop back into the sofa cushions.

"How am I ever going to get to sleep?" she grumbled. _I could certainly think of some ways to wear you out_, Holly thought to herself as she rinsed the mugs out. Distracted, she slipped and scolded her hand on the hot water, blushing as she realized where her mind had been wandering.

"Do you want a lift home?" she called out, her voice cracking just a little on the first word. She wiped her hands and walked back into the living room, leaning over the back of the couch to where Gail was lying, staring back up at her.

"Nah, I have my car. Believe me, I am awake enough to drive." The blonde smiled at her and she smiled back, leaning down and brush a strand of hair away from Gail's eyes. God, she was bad at this being friends thing. She quickly retracted the hand and cleared her throat.

"I better get your coat for you," she looked around to see where the blonde had flung it. Knowing Gail she had taken it off, thrown it somewhere and then not given it a second thought. She spotted it hanging over the back of a chair, but as she got closer she realized it wasn't Gail's coat, it was her own, the one she'd left at the wedding. She had been so surprised to see the other woman standing at her door she hadn't even noticed.

"I figured I'd better return in," Gail walked up behind her, grinning proudly.

"Did you go all the way home again after your date to get it?" Holly asked, shaking her head as she walked over to the stand by the front door where she had left Gail's red coat hanging.

"No, I came straight here from the date." The brunette smiled to herself.

"So, you liked my coat _so_ much, you wore it on your date? I knew you secretly loved my clothes," she teased as she handed the jacket back. The blonde glared at her. Holly could tell she wanted to argue back, but had no retaliation that wouldn't force her to admit something else, so she slipped the red coat on and tucked her hair behind her ears.

"I hope I didn't bore you _too_ much," Holly said, opening the front door to let the blonde out. Gail followed and paused in the threshold. Here they were again, saying goodnight at Holly's apartment door. The brunette's throat felt dry. She licked her lips nervously, staring at Gail's feet as the other woman shifted from foot to foot in her heels.

"Goodnight, Holly," the blonde reached out and touched her arm from a moment, and then pulled back again, taking a step out into the hall. Holly looked back up, smiling sheepishly.

"Night Gail." She watched Gail walk away around the corner to the lifts. No goodnight kiss this time around, maybe that was a sign that it really was just a one off, too much champagne kind of thing.


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6:**

The next day had seemed, at the beginning, like it would be just another day. Holly woke up at five, went for a jog, took a hot shower, ate scrambled eggs on toast, and texted Gail as she made her morning coffee '_Manage to get much sleep, caffeine addict?_' She took a mouthful and looked out her kitchen window. Blue skies always felt promising. She held the warm mug between her hands for a moment, and then continued on with her morning routine. Gail didn't text back till Holly was dressed and heading out the door '_I feel surprisingly good for someone who only got four hours sleep._' Ten minutes later, as she was driving with her stereo on loud, she heard her phone vibrating loudly on the center console. At the next light she glanced at the screen. '_Scratch that, mood killed, Chris and Dov just arrived with annoying and annoying-er. There goes my relaxing day off_.' Holly shook her head and looked back to the road, bemused.

She'd only been at work a few hours, deep in paperwork, when she got another text from Gail '_I'm coming in now with some blood samples, can you put a rush on them for me?_' Holly's stomach started to feel uneasy already.

'_Sure, no problem. I'll clear my schedule_.' She didn't bother asking anything further until Gail actually came in, she knew there'd be no point, the blonde obviously wasn't feeling chatty. She finished off the write up for the file she was working on, and was just putting it away when the blonde burst through the doors, evidence bag in hand. She walked straight up, without a single hello or good morning, and handed Holly the plastic bag containing the swabs. The brunette accepted without a word and began preparing the equipment. Gail didn't speak for the next five minutes, just followed her around and stared intently at whatever she was doing.

"Do you want to tell me what's going on?" Holly finally asked, "I kind of need to know what I'm looking for."

"Missing kid," Gail replied, her voice was softer than usual, "the blood was found in the car he was taken from, could be his, or could be his abductors." Holly nodded, starting up the initial analysis. As the machine began work she turned back to the blonde.

"Gail, come on, you are far more invested in this case than I have ever seen you. Who is this kid?" she prompted, reaching her hand out automatically to touch Gail's where it sat on table, but quickly stopping herself before she made contact.

"Christian. Chris' son," the blonde finally replied, scuffing the clean plastic flooring with her uniform black boot. Holly grimaced.

"Oh. Gail, I'm sure you guys will find him, okay?" she reached out and put her hand on Gail's arm, gently squeezing it, "This is my top priority, you have my word." Gail nodded, and pulled out of the touch.

"Do you want a coffee? I owe you one, after last night," she was already pulling out her wallet and moving towards the door, "that place down the street, right?" Holly smiled softly, _she remembered_.

"Yeah, actually, that would be amazing." She didn't even have time to tell Gail her order and the blonde was already out the door.

…

While Gail called in to the station to report Holly's findings so far, Holly took a nervous sip of the coffee Gail had brought her. The hot beverage washed over her tongue and she sighed contently. How did Gail remember her exact order from the one she had mentioned her weird coffee drinking habits the night before? She didn't even care as she gulped it down and continued taking notes from the data. Her eyes flicked over to the blonde momentarily, who's expression was serious again as she relayed the message.

"Any leads yet?" Gail asked at the end nervously. Whatever news she received obviously wasn't good, the blonde ended the call curtly and pulled up a stool next to Holly. They sat in silence as Holly worked and Gail watched. Holly could feel the blonde's eyes on her.

"Staring won't make this go faster," Holly told her, shooting Gail a small smile. The blonde glared back playfully, hitting Holly lightly on the arm.

"Maybe I just like looking at you," she replied, wiggling her eyebrows. Holly was glad to see her relax a little, finally. She grinned smugly.

"I _bet_ you do." Gail laughed, pulling a face at her, and she felt her stomach somersault. When was the last time she had liked someone this much this fast? She couldn't even remember. She was usually so rational going into relationships, she wasn't the type to just fall hard and fast, she'd been burnt once from that and learnt quickly. _Wait, going into relationships? Holly, this is a friendship. _She pulled her focus back to the screen in front of her. Now wasn't the time to be flirting or obsessively over-thinking her own feelings. She managed to keep her mouth shut for about ten minutes, before she found herself asking,

"What are you doing tonight?" She kept her eyes fixed firmly on the screen, but out of the corner of her eye she saw Gail shifting awkwardly in her seat.

"I have, um, another date, actually," she admitted. Holly frowned at her notebook, but kept writing. She pressed down so hard her pen went through the paper and made a small hole in the middle of the word.

"Another sergeant mum set up?" she asked, coming across more bitter then she intended to let on. Gail looked up at her, blue eyes striking even in the dull lab lighting. She nodded, eyes boring into the side of Holly's face. Holly couldn't help her mild annoyance, and was determined to hold on to it, which she could only do if she stopped herself from looking back. One glance at those gorgeous blue eyes and she would be gone.

"So I should be expecting you again around ten thirty, when it all goes wrong?" the brunette sniped, eyes boring into the screen in front of her, determined to keep her focus.

"Maybe. Would you mind?" Gail asked, in an uncharacteristically shy tone. Holly looked across at her, and those eyes caught her, the softest blue, almost a shade lighter than normal. She smiled softly.

"Of course not."

…

Holly watched Gail gather her things and head for the door, and she wished she didn't have to go. The blonde paused in the doorway and looked back. Strands of her hair fell loose and brushed her cheeks. She looked like a slightly flustered mess, unlike her usual down to business self when she was at work.

"Thanks Holly," she smiled. And then suddenly she was on the move again, her mind back on task, determined.

"Good luck!" Holly called back, Gail already halfway down the hall. Her lab suddenly felt quiet and empty. For a moment she felt lost, and then she scanned over her desk and quickly had made up a mental list of several tasks to do before she finished for the night. She sighed and dived in headfirst, taking on a recent case and finishing the write up for forensic analysis of fibres found on the scene. Usually at work she was driven and focused. She loved what she did, and even the most boring of tasks she could find passion for when she thought about how it fit into the jigsaw puzzle of the justice system. Today was the first time in a long time she found herself distracted, every so often checking her phone for an update, glancing at the time to see how long she had left before she could call it a night and not feel guilty about it. Her hand began to cramp a little as she typed, and she stopped to stretch her fingers, rolling her wrists till they clicked. Tonight definitely felt like a night to hit the batting cages, and take out all her pent up frustration by hitting small balls with a wooden stick as hard as she could. She'd been doing this since she was a kid. It had always been her dad's way of coping and he had passed it on to her.

It was starting to get late, and she was beginning to wrap up work, having received word from Gail via text that Christian had been found. The blonde was stuck doing all her paperwork before she could leave, which included forensics seeing as she'd been at the lab with Holly for most of the day, so every ten or so minutes Holly would get a text asking her how to word something, or if she could explain something that Gail didn't understand. '_If i keep going at this snail pace I'm going to be late for my date_.' Holly smirked, the thought crossing her mind for a moment to slow the other woman down by giving her extra in-depth analysis to add to her notes. But she liked Gail too much to be so cruel, so she refrained, instead replying '_Gosh, we wouldn't want that_.' She knew her sarcasm would translate, Gail knew her well enough by now, which was odd being as it had only been a short few weeks.

She finally finished for the night, at least enough of her list completely so that she didn't feel too guilty. She placed a couple of files in her brief case to take home with her and began packing up her things. She was walking to her car when her phone started going off, and she awkwardly fumbled through her pocket, jacket slung over one arm, to retrieve it. She answered and heard Gail's soft voice on the other end.

"Hey."

"Hi," Holly echoed back, mildly surprised.

"What are you doing tonight?" Gail asked, her tone completely changed from earlier that day, a modicum of her sass back but also a gentleness that wasn't there before. Holly loved the sound of it.

"Going to the batting cages, buying Chinese take out and then waiting for a certain blonde cop to turn up at my apartment door," she replied lightly. Gail laughed, and the sound was different through a phone line, but it was a laugh none the less. It was good just to hear it again. Today had freaked Holly out a little, she hadn't seen Gail like that before.

"The batting cages? Really Holly? Could you be any gayer?" the blonde teased, but sounded like she was in fact slightly perturbed by the idea.

"It's a good way to let off steam and take out built up frustration," she answered as she reached her car and unlocked the side door, throwing her things into the back. There was a pause on the other end.

"What kind of frustration do you need to take out, Holly?" Gail's voice had turned suddenly sultry, a gravelly quality laden in her softly spoken words, sending goosebumps crawling down the back of Holly's neck. She swallowed hard as she slipped into the passenger seat.

"Work. Stuff." she spat out awkwardly, and the blonde giggled down the line. Holly could hear the sound of her locker door closing, she was obviously at the station, finishing up for the day.

"Okay," Gail replied, "Pick me up in twenty." The brunette paused for a moment, her key in the ignition about to reverse out of the car park. Had she missed a part of the conversation? Was this in reference to something, a in-joke she'd forgotten? She adjusted her glasses nervously.

"Did I miss something?" she asked, "Don't you have a date tonight?"

"Yes, I do, a certain nerd is taking me to the batting cages. I'll be waiting out the front of my apartment, don't be late, okay?" And then she hung up. Holly looked at the phone in her hand, confused. She pulled out onto the street and began heading towards Gail's place. Twenty minutes wouldn't be enough time to go all the way home and change, she was stuck wearing her t-shirt and jeans. Five minutes away from Gail's place she pulled over on the side of the road and checked her hair in her car mirror, before continuing on. When she arrived at the front the blonde was waiting, as promised, right on the curb. She jumped in as soon as the car came to a stop.

"I've never been to the batting cages before," Gail announced as she put on her seatbelt. Holly smiled, bemused, as she took in the other woman, hair still in a loose pony tail, a slightly baggy woollen sweater sitting over a black singlet. How did she look so gorgeous when she hadn't even tried? The brunette bit her lip and pulled back onto the road.

"I used to go there all the time with my dad," she confessed, "That's where he always went when he was stressed at work, or angry, or sad. He went there a lot after my mum died, and that's when he started taking me with him." She was looking at the road but she could feel those electric blue eyes watching her again.

"When was that?" Gail asked.

"When I was thirteen," she replied, "So how is Christian, by the way?" she changed the subject as she turned onto the main road.

"He's okay I think, just very scared and very happy to be back with his parents," the blonde replied, "I don't even know how Chris must be right now though." Gail looked concerned, and she knew it was entirely valid, but Holly felt just a twinge of jealousy, before she remembered that she had no right to.

"So what was the deal with you guys?" she asked casually. Gail raised her eyebrows, looking unimpressed, but Holly pursued anyway.

"You dated, right?"

"How do you know that?" The blonde was frowning, her tone and expression suddenly guarded again.

"Some of the 'lab nerds' are terrible gossips. I try not to partake, but they're always talking in the lunch room, it's hard not to over hear," Holly admitted, blushing slightly. Gail seemed to soften at this though.

"Yeah. A long time ago. Don't worry, he's no competition," she grinned as she said it, blue eyes sparkling cheekily. The brunette's blush deepened as she tried to scoff and play it off.

"As if anyone could compete with _me_."

"You don't really pull off the conceded thing," Gail laughed, shaking her head as they pulled into the parking lot. The batting cages were in the industrial part of town, located in a large warehouse. From out the front, even Holly could admit, they didn't look like much. She could see Gail sizing the place up, and not looking particularly impressed.

"It's better inside, I promise."

…

"Come on, just try _one_ more time, and then I promise we can get Chinese," Holly tried to convince Gail, holding the bat out towards her. The blonde was sitting in one of the uncomfortable plastic seats next to the office, claiming laughing stitch as reason for her inability to try again. The brunette nealt down in front of her, doing her best puppy dog eyes, unconvincingly it seemed, Gail shook her head again.

"I'll show you how, I'll be right there with you. If the ball comes too close, I promise I'll dive in front and save you. Gail, come on, one hit," she pleaded. The blonde sighed heavily.

"Is agreeing the only way to make you stop?" she asked, sounding defeated. Holly grinned excitedly, rising back to her feet and offering the other woman her hand.

"Yes, it is," she confirmed, pulling Gail up, and then dragging her by the same hand back towards the free cage. She led the blonde into the middle, onto the plate. Gail followed with as much resistance and least enthusiasm as possible.

"Now," Holly instructed, "you stand side on, like this," she took hold of the blonde's shoulders and moved her around into position, "legs a liiiittle further apart than that." Gail stared at her blankly, so she reached down and placed her hand on the inside of Gail's thigh, just above her knee, and pushed her leg slightly.

"That's better, okay now, show me how you hold the bat," she demanded. Gail glared at her but took the bat, swinging it back behind in ready position. Holly observed, trying not to stare at Gail's ass, and failing, and then moved in again, reaching up and gently shifting Gail's hands on the bat.

"You're choking too much," she explained, as the blonde watched her.

"What, you're not going to stand behind me and put your hands around me and teach me how to swing?" Gail quipped, "Isn't that what they do in all the movies?" _That idea is actually quite appealing_. Holly laughed and stepped back giving Gail some space.

"Now take a practice swing," she insisted. Gail swung the bat meekly and Holly observed, watching the way she moved her arms and her body.

"Hmm, okay," she came up behind the blonde, and put her arms around her, gripping the bat over the top of Gail's hands. Out of the corner of her eyes she could see Gail blushing.

"See now, you need to swing more like this," she moved the blonde's arms back into ready position, and then swung through cleanly, "you see?" Gail nodded mutely.

"I'm going to turn the machine on now, and I want you do exactly what I just showed you, okay?" she walked over to the button, hand hovering over it. She watched Gail take a deep breath and roll her shoulders in preparation. When the blonde gave her a thumbs up she pressed down, and a ball fired out directly over the plate. Gail swung perfectly, but a fraction too late, and completely missed it. She blinked for a second and then looked back.

"How was that?"

"It was exactly right, except that you swung a little too late," Holly laughed, "go again!" She waited till the blonde was in position and then pressed the button. She could see Gail flexing her fingers around the bat. When the ball fired she waited a second, watching it, and then swung hard. There was _crack_, the sound of baseball on wood, and the ball went flying back into the fence, so hard it caught in the wire and stayed there. Gail turned back to look at her, positively grinning from ear to ear.

"I hit it!" she cried, "I hit it!" running towards Holly and flinging her arms around her. When she pulled back she was smirking proudly.

"This means you're paying for dinner, right?" she asked. Holly laughed and nodded, lifting the helmet up off of her head and slipping it under her arm instead.

"Of course, it's a victory celebration, the winning batter never has to pay."

…

As they walked through the door of the small Chinese takeaway shop, Gail was still riding on the high of the one ball she managed to hit, talking animatedly about how maybe they should make this a monthly thing, where they go down to the batting cages and Holly teachers her how to hit. The brunette laughed and agreed, against her better judgement. Gail just seemed thrilled by the fact that for once was not a total failure at some kind of sport. The woman behind the counter smiled as they approached.

"Holly!" she greeted cheerfully, "Your usual order tonight? Or maybe you order something different, you have friend with you." She smiled at Gail knowingly. The blonde looked sideways, raising her eyebrows at Holly.

"How often exactly do you come here?" she teased. The brunette ignored her comment and began ordering several different dishes and three serves of rice.

"It is just going to be us tonight, right?" Gail asked as the woman took the order out the back, "I think you just ordered enough for a whole family."

"You said you love to eat. And I thought you might be hungry, what with the physical exertion of hitting a ball and all," she quipped in return. The blonde grinned at her as she took a seat to wait.

"That is actually very true," she admitted, "I do love food. And you ordered Kung Pow Chicken, so I am totally set." Holly took a set next to her, leaning her arms on the wonky arm rests of the chair. It was funny how she had been to this same dingy, small takeaway shop so many times, and there was nothing different about it, but it felt so different tonight. Despite the badly chosen white square tiled flooring and the fluorescent lighting, it had an air of possibility. Gail's arm was siting next to hers, and their hands were dangling side by side. Every once in a while Gail's pinky just lightly brushed her own, so lightly in fact that Holly wasn't even sure if it was really happening or all in her head. Never had she been so confused by a girl, so jerked around. Not even by her college fling, who reasonably ruined her for taking risks and falling without thinking, had made her head spin this much. She knew, rationally speaking, that the best thing to do was to just ask Gail what they were doing, what was going on, what she was thinking and feeling. But she was terrified that she would scare her, and that she would loose even this odd, unlabelled, kind of more than friendship, flirting, and kissing one time _thing. _And the smart thing, if Gail truly didn't feel that way about her, would be to stop it now. But she couldn't.


	7. Chapter 7

_**A/N: **_**I am really really nervous about this chapter, so I hope you guys like it.**

**Thank you infinitely to all the kind people who favourite, or follow, or especially take the time to bother to leave a review. You are all slowly inflating my ego, and giving me the encouragement to keep writing this on those days where I hate everything I type. (Which has happened a few times recently)**

**If you guys have any feedback, I really appreciate it.**

**(Also just going to float this idea - I had the thought to write this whole story again from Gail's perspective, but is this totally crazy and ridiculous? Would any of you bother to read that? let me know!)**

**Special thanks to Maryaun who lets me whine to her about this story when I am struggling with it. If you haven't already started reading her fic My Best Friend, do it now!**

**...**

The night was cool around her limbs as she walked, arms laden with plastic bags full of takeaway Chinese food that swung awkwardly and bumped into her sides. Gail was walking ahead of her by two paces. Something was different about her tonight that Holly couldn't put her finger on. The blonde turned around and begun walking backwards, facing Holly, her hair loose now, elastic band tight around her wrist instead. Her woollen knit sweater moved around her body with each step she took, shifting again and again, falling in different folds, highlighting how tightly her singlet must be clinging to her petite figure.

"So do you take all your dates to the Happy Garden Chinese Restaurant?" Gail asked her, her tone intended to come across as teasing, but Holly could read the inquisitive undercurrent. She quickened her pace to walk next to the blonde, who turned around to face the right way again.

"Only the ones I don't like very much," Holly quipped back, going to bump Gail gently with her elbow, and instead accidentally hitting her in the side with one of the bags of food.

"Yikes, I won't try questioning _you_ again," the blonde laughed, taking a small step away. Holly cursed her own awkwardness, how did she manage to forget the heavy bulky thing attached to her arm? She switched it over to the other arm, on the opposite side to where Gail walked.

"I thought cops were supposed to be tough. Is that all it takes to scare off Gail Peck?" she teased, and then added, "I haven't actually been on a date in quite some time," as they approached her building, and she reached into her pockets for the keys. Gail pushed the door open and held it for her as she walked in. The lobby was quiet and their footsteps echoed on the stone tiling.

"I wonder why," Gail replied sarcastically as she pushed the button, and Holly frowned, taken aback. What was that supposed to mean. She couldn't help but feel hurt by the blunt severity of the statement.

"I'm sorry, what?" Gail raised her eyebrows in an expression that said, 'you really need to ask', but then realised that maybe it wasn't as obvious to Holly as it was to her and softened quickly.

"No, well I mean, how would you ever meet someone? Every time I talk to you, you seem to be working, or home on your own, or you're with me," she explained, shrugging, as though it wasn't really that big of a deal, "You're never going to meet a cute girl if you don't, like, put yourself out there." Holly could feel that sensation in her stomach again, that cold heavy feeling. _Right, meet a cute girl. Because I don't already have one. _She felt herself sighing as the elevator doors opened.

"What? Oh, crap, did I do something? Dov says I'm always putting my foot in it," Gail cringed as she followed, and as Holly leant against the back wall of the elevator the blonde leant next to her, reaching out and putting a hand on Holly's arm, "I wasn't trying to make fun of you, nerd." The brunette shook her head and put on her best fake smile.

"No, it's fine. Very true," she conceded as the doors opened on her floor, and she quickly walked around to her apartment, unlocking it and letting them in. Inside it was dark, and as she paused in the entryway to kick off her shoes the blonde ran into her from behind, and giggled as she closed the door behind her.

"Sorry." Gail's voice was soft and husky, her hand finding Holly's and holding onto it in the dark as she removed her own shoes as well, and Holly heard them each falling into a pile in the vague vicinity of her shoe rack, _thunk, thunk_. The brunette didn't move for a moment, and Gail didn't either.

"Some light would be pretty good about now," came a quip from the dark next to her, and the hand slipped out of her grip. Suddenly the living room light flickered on, and the blonde was across the other side of the room at the light switch. Holly smiled tightly and dumped the food onto the coffee table.

"Dig in, I'm just going to change into something a little less sweaty," she told Gail, indicating to the t-shirt she had been wearing all day. She walked into her bedroom and closed the door behind her, leaning back against it and taking a long, deep breath. _Of course by date she didn't actually mean date, you moron_. She groaned and ran a hand through her messy hair, sweeping it back away from her face. She pulled her t-shirt up over head head and dropped it neatly into her laundry basket. She undid the button of her jeans and wiggled them down over her hips until they fell into a pile of denim around her ankles, and she was able to kick them in next to the t-shirt. The air felt cold over her exposed skin and she pulled open her dresser draw, searching around for something to wear, pulling out a comfortable pair of pyjama shorts and slipping them on. She was rooting around for a shirt when the bedroom door burst open, and Gail walked in.

"Listen, about what I said before, I- I feel like I really upset you, or something, and-" she paused then, cheeks going red as her eyes found Holly, standing next to the bed in a small pair of cotton pyjama shorts and a bra, "oh." Gail's eyes turned a different shade of blue then Holly had ever seen them, darker, as they raked up her body slowly.

"Sorry, I didn't… Right, changing, of course. God Gail," the blonde mumbled, embarrassed, and went to leave before pausing at the door, "We should talk. When you're, you know, actually clothed." The door shut loudly behind her. Holly fell back onto her bed, placing her hands over her eyes. Why didn't she wear the red bra with the lace this morning, she had to choose her practical white semi-sports bra.

When she stepped back out into the living room, she found Gail had made herself comfortable on the couch, legs crossed and a bowl of food in her lap. She was awkwardly trying to shovel the rice into her mouth with a pair of chopsticks, but half of what she'd picked up fell back off before it reached her mouth every time. Holly smiled softly as she watched, and walked over, taking a seat next to her. She copied Gail's stance, legs crossed indian style, and waited patiently for the blonde to start talking. Gail chewed for a moment and then swallowed, and reached for her water. Holly felt like the moment had dragged on forever when the blonde finally took a mouthful and was ready to speak.

"Okay," she paused, "Shit. I am really, really crap at the whole, talking, thing," she sighed angrily at herself, and Holly tried to offer her a reassuring smile, "Okay, I'm just going to… I don't know if you, like, realise, but you're pretty much my best friend. That sounds so fucking middle school, but it's true." Holly wasn't sure if she should feel cut that Gail just completely friend-zoned her, or touched that the blonde actually considered her such a good friend, and wound up feeling a weird mixture of the two that made no sense at all to her brain. So she mostly just felt mildly nauseas.

"It's just that you kind of, get me. Like Tracy and Andy and Dov, they didn't like me in the beginning, and they do now, but it took them a while. I know I've never talked about it too much before, but I didn't really have any friends in the academy. I didn't have any at 15th either, for a while. But you, just… you got me, straight away. And I tend to fuck up everything that I touch. And it seemed like maybe tonight I finally did that, to, this." She finished awkwardly, frowning into her lap. Holly wasn't sure what to say. She wanted to reassure Gail that she hadn't done that at all, but at the same time, she knew she needed to say something, and this, if ever, was the time to do so. _Just spit it out. _

"Before, in the elevator…. Gail, when you said that I was never going to meet a cute girl," she took a deep breath and took the plunge, "what if I already _did_?" she gave Gail a pointed look, and the blonde stared back, the realisation of exactly what Holly was saying taking a moment to settle in. Her big blue eyes were wide, and unguarded, and scared, and Holly bit her lip nervously, waiting for some kind of reply.

"Oh." _Not quite the response I was looking for_. Holly groaned, pushing her glasses back up her nose out of habit, even though they hadn't slipped much at all. She could feel the air slipping out of her lungs, like there was a small hole somewhere and every time she took a breath she could never fill them because the air was just continually escaping.

"No, I just. Do you have alcohol? I think for this conversation, I need alcohol," Gail looked round the room, as though a bottle of vodka might appear out of thin air.

"Kitchen, top right hand cupboard," Holly told her, voice quiet. She watched as the blonde got up off of the couch and walked around towards the kitchen. She turned around in her seat, placing her arms on the back of the couch and resting her chin on her hands as she watched Gail turn the corner and almost disappear from sight. The cupboard door creaked as the blonde opened it, and then Holly could hear the clinking of glass bottles, the sound of a metal lid twisting open, liquid falling into a glass. Gail made a kind of high, squeaking sound as the liquor burned down her throat.

"Trust you to have really nice, expensive vodka," the voice echoed from around the corner, and Holly couldn't help but smile at the dig. She heard Gail take a deep breath before she walked out again, and when her face remerged there was a casual smile plastered over her features, attempting to hide her obvious nerves. She walked around and sat back down opposite Holly.

"Holly, I-" Gail stuttered, "like you. In a way that, I never imagined that I would when we first met. But I'm not good at relationships. And I can't-" she stopped and picked at loose thread on Holly's sofa for a moment and then sighed, apparently unable to continue, "Say something." Holly frowned, that was not what she expected.

"Wait, you like me? Like, like like me?" she replied. Gail looked back up at her, brow furrowed adorably.

"That's what you get out of that?" she shook her head, exasperated, "Nerd-" she began, but was cut off when Holly leant forward and crawled across the couch. The brunette watched as Gail froze mid sentence, her blue eyes flecked with fear, but filled with something else far stronger, as Holly leant in and kissed her. One of her hands gently cupped Gail's cheek, as the other gripped the couch. She kissed her so slowly that for a moment the kiss felt infinite, and all she could think about was Gail's lips, the small dimple in the bottom one that she always found herself staring at and could now feel pressed against her own. She felt the blonde's hand against her hip, pulling her closer, and goosebumps spread from the contact point, crawling all across her back, making her shiver. Finally she pulled away, her face still close to Gail's.

"I don't know if I can just be friends with you," she whispered. Gail frowned, and then leant forward and kissed her back, taking hold of both of Holly's hips and pulling the brunette onto her lap. Holly couldn't help the small gasp that escaped her mouth mid-kiss as Gail's hands slipped under her shirt, gripping her so tightly that the blonde's nails were digging into her skin. She moved one of her hands from Gail's cheek, around the back of her neck, and tangled her fingers in soft, blonde hair. This time when she withdrew her breath was laboured, adrenaline coursing through her blood stream and causing her legs to shake. She swallowed, and reached up to gently trace Gail's facial features, running her finger over her arched brow, down the dip of her nose, over the dimple above her mouth, along the curve of her lips. The blonde stared up at her silently.

"What does this mean?" Holly finally asked. Gail bit her lip, those eyes which had been like open books moments before, suddenly guarded.

"I don't know."


	8. Chapter 8

**_A/N_: ****Sorry for the incredibly slow update, I have been having atrocious writers block :P **

**Thank you so much to all the incredibly sweet people who bother to review/comment, it means a lot to me, and is probably the only reason I managed to finish this chapter haha**

**For personal reasons the next chapter out may be a little slow as well, so do forgive me, but I will update as soon as I can.**

Holly woke up lying half off of the lounge, a knee digging into her back, and a hand interlinked with her own tightly. The muscles in her back ached, and as she shifted to try and find a more comfortable position the hand gripping hers squeezed even harder. Holly turned her head to see the sleeping blonde beside her. Gail was drooling slightly onto one of the nautical themed cushions, forming what looked like a dark storm cloud above an old fashioned ship. She was fast asleep, her eyes fluttering slightly behind their lids.

"What is going on in that head of yours?" Holly whispered, leaning over and gently pressing a kiss against the blonde's forehead. She sat up slightly and reached for her phone on the coffee table, the screen lit up and the numbers '4:50' glared at her blurrily. This was usually about the time she would get up and go for a run, but she didn't want to leave the sleeping blonde next to her. She groaned, letting the phone fall back onto the wooden table top with a loud _thunk_, and wiggling back on the lounge until she could feel Gail's body pressed up against her back. Heat radiated from the other woman's skin.

"Why do you get to be the little spoon?" Gail mumbled sleepily, pulling the brunette further into her arms. Holly smiled, her limbs already feeling warm and heavy again, and let herself fall back to sleep.

When she woke for the second time, everything felt considerably different from the moment that her mind began to regain consciousness. The first thing she noticed was the cold air around her body, her hands curled around a cushion as she lay spread out over the lounge. As soon as it clicked in her head that these things were a result of Gail no longer lying next to her, the sleepy haze she had been slowly waking from vanished in a snap. She fumbled to find her glasses, sliding them up her nose and putting the room back into focus. She looked around, but her apartment was empty, filled only with warm orange mid-morning light. She spotted a hand scrawled note sitting on the coffee table next to her phone, and picked it up.

'_Had to go to work, you were too peaceful to wake up. Talk later. G._' Holly sighed heavily as she checked the time. It was nine thirty, and she was already late for work herself. She quickly called to tell them she'd be there soon and dragged herself into the shower. As she let the scolding water pour over her, she couldn't help but think about last night. About kissing Gail, repeatedly. My god that cop knew how to kiss. And when the blonde had tried to insist that it wasn't a good idea, that _she_ wasn't a good idea, Holly had taken her hand and said "We're not discussing this tonight. You're obviously too tired, because you're not making _any_ sense." When it had reached one am, the two had somehow ended up falling asleep. One minute Holly had been talking, more like mumbling, about an article she had been asked to write, and the next she had been waking up at fourty thirty.

She turned the taps off, and water dripped down her body onto the tiles as she stepped out and reached for her towel. She had the nauseating feeling that Gail was going to do what Gail did best - create an emergency situation to get out of the tree. But the other woman did have a perfectly good excuse to leave, and had left a reasonably sane sounding note. She took a deep breath and shook her head. She couldn't be dwelling over this now. She got dressed faster than she probably had since medical school, when she would sleep in late after studying till four or five in the morning and have fifteen minutes to shower, dress, eat and be at the bus stop. As she parked her car outside the morgue she stopped and reached for her phone, sending a rushed text to Gail.

'_Thanks for making me late for work, that's the last time I let _you_ sleep over_.' She was aiming for cool and casual, and hoped it hadn't come off too biting. It was Gail though, what was she worrying about? If there was anyone who would take a text like that exactly as it was intended, it would be the blonde she couldn't get out of her head.

From the moment she stepped into the lab, she knew she had to dispel all thoughts of Gail if she was going to get anything done, which was imperative considering that she had done none of the work she had taken home with her last night. However thinking it was easier than doing it. All day she found herself making small mistakes that she wouldn't usually have made. Spelling errors on simple words and skipping over steps. She was usually the most thorough person, disciplined and methodical, but today she was considerably off. By the time she finished work at nine thirty, she was exhausted. She packed her things back up, put two files and a large series of articles into her suitcase to work on that night, and reached for her phone in the top draw of her desk. After checking it eighteen times in the first half an hour of work she'd realised it was too much of a distraction, and had turned the phone on silent, and locked it away. She turned the screen on, and found she had five new messages, all from Gail.

'_I'm pretty sure you _wanted_ me to keep you up all night, you're just lucky I let you sleep._'

'_I'm stuck on desk duty today, come save me_.'

'_Nerd, since when do you not answer your texts?_'

'_I think you're neurotic-ness has worn off on me, because I'm like, worried._'

'_Answer this soon or I am coming down there_.'

Holly felt herself grinning as she re-read them, before she realised that it had been twenty five minutes since the last message, and she hadn't replied. She typed back as fast as she could manage, '_I'm fine. Had phone off all day. But it's nice to know you worry about me_.' She sent it and grabbed her coat, heading for the door, when the blonde in question came around the corner, glaring at her.

"Thank you for the message, _finally_, but I'm already here," she was out of uniform, wearing jeans and a loose fitting t-shirt, and she had her arms crossed over her chest huffily, "Holly, I don't know your middle name yet, Stewart. Learn to answer your damn phone." Gail was frowning, but Holly could see in her eyes that it was 90% for show, and she was only a little mad at her. She walked over and placed her hand gently on the blonde's arm, biting her lip nervously out of habit.

"I'm sorry, honestly. But since you're here, how do you feel about dinner? Because I am starving!" She smiled sheepishly at Gail, and the other woman caved, rolling her eyes but nodding and letting Holly lead her down the hall back towards the car.

"One condition though, I get to choose where we eat this time," she replied, expression serious for a moment, before it soften and she smiled back at the brunette, "doofus." Holly laughed, letting go of Gail's arm as they exited out of the main door.

"Deal," she conceded, "It's May, by the way. My middle name. But I'm not giving you permission to ever use it. _Ever_, Gail."

...

Holly peeked nervously at Gail over the top of her menu. The blonde hadn't even bothered to look at her own, having informed Holly that she knew exactly what she wanted as they had taken a seat in the booth. How ironic the brunette had thought, smirking to herself. Neither of them had brought up the previous night yet, it seemed they were both skirting cautiously around the topic. Every time the words were on the tip of Holly's tongue she would catch Gail's cocky smile and swallow them back down again, convinced that she would scare the blonde off. Instead, for now, she enjoyed the other woman's company.

"What are you getting?" she asked, averting her eyes back down to the dinner section before the blonde caught her staring.

"You'll just have to wait and see," Gail replied chipper-ly. Holly could hear the smirk in her voice. She shook her head and continued perusing the burgers. She was hungry enough that everything looked good but she couldn't decide what she actually wanted. She sighed heavily and let the menu flop back onto the table, and pouted at the other woman like a small child not getting her way.

"Pick for me. I can't decide," Holly insisted. She could hear the slight whine in her voice as she said it, and cringed, but the blonde laughed at her and agreed.

"Yikes, you don't deal well when you're hungry," Gail teased, picking the menu up, "Hmmm what to order for a starving lab nerd. Do you have any particular dislikes that I don't know about?" she asked, looking back up and catching Holly's eyes staring at her. The brunette smiled.

"Well, I don't like pickles. In case you're getting me a burger. And I don't like barbecue sauce, only tomato, or mustard. Umm... oh, and for future reference, though probably not an issue here, I dislike olives, and pumpkin, unless the flavour is masked by cinnamon and sugar. And I don't like coconut, unless it's on top of a coconut and jam slice. Not a beetroot fan. I don't mind mushrooms, it depends what mood I'm in." She felt herself rambling and quickly stopped. Gail looked at her quietly for a moment, and Holly suddenly began to feel embarrassed at her admission. Maybe that was an information overload. Then the blonde gave her a small, soft smile, one corner of her mouth curling slightly more than the other.

"You're weird," she stated, before dropping her gaze and adding, "I like it." It was one of those incredibly rare moments when Gail was shy and soft and more than anything, vulnerable. Then it was gone again, and the other woman was looking out at the diner with a mildly irritated expression.

"God, is our waiter like, a snail?" she complained, rolling her eyes and making Holly giggle.

"Well look who's impatient now," she quipped, nudging Gail's knee beneath the table with her own. The blonde nudged her back playfully.

"Holly, are you trying to play footsies with me?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. The brunette glared back at her.

"In your dreams Peck."

...

Holly was only halfway through her burger when Gail swallowed her last bite, and grinned across at her. There was a small smudge of ketchup on the corner of her mouth, and the brunette had to fight the urge to lean over and wipe it off. Maybe that was a bit _too_ girlfriend-y.

"So how are you liking your Gail special, minus the pickles?" the blonde asked, beaming and taking a large mouthful of cola. Holly tried to fight back a giggle, but couldn't stop it from bubbling up. The other woman gave her a strange look as she leant back in her seat and waited for the brunette to finish chewing. Holly dropped the last piece of burger back onto her plate, rubbing her stomach.

"I can't eat another bite, because that is the biggest burger I have ever seen, but it was pretty good," she replied, pushing the plate away and dabbing her mouth with a napkin to try and hint to the other woman that maybe she should do the same, "How on earth did you finish it?" Gail just grinned at her, completely oblivious.

"Easy, my stomach is an endless pit. If you put a cookie in front of me right now, I would devour that too," she replied. Holly shook her head in disbelief. How such a tiny person could contain so much food was beyond her. Even though scientifically speaking of course she knew it was plausible, looking at the blonde's small physique that didn't seem the case. She pulled her purse out of her handbag and quickly slid out of the booth, making a beeline towards the front counter. Behind her she heard Gail question where she was going, and then seeming to realise, sounds of protest, but there wasn't anything that the blonde could do, because Holly was already pulling out her card and paying. When she returned to her seat Gail was glaring at her.

"The person who asks the other person out is supposed to pay, nerd." She grabbed her coat and slid out of the booth.

"Technically, I am the one who asked you to dinner. You only chose were," Holly replied, holding the door open for the blonde as they exited back out onto the street. It was dark, and the street was quiet. She took a deep breath and reached over, taking the other woman's hand in her own, and hoping desperately that she wouldn't freak Gail out. Gail looked across at her as they walked, and adjusted her hand to interlink their fingers. The brunette could feel that energy again, that kind of static electricity from the other woman's touch. When they reached her car, just a few shops further down the street, she stopped, stilling holding onto Gail's hand. The blonde leant back against the car quietly, as if she knew Holly wanted, or needed, to say something. The brunette stood in front of her, chewing her bottom lip. When she looked up at the other woman, steeling herself to say the speech she had been writing and re-writing in her head all day, instead she potted the little red ketchup smear on the corner of Gail's mouth. She giggled, causing the blonde to raise her eyebrows in a manner indicating she was questioning Holly's sanity.

"No, it's just," the brunette began to reply, but stopped and leant forward instead, holding Gail's chin gently in one hand, and using one finger to wipe away the sauce, "you had ketchup on your face." She held the finger up to show Gail, and then without thinking put it into her mouth and sucked off the sauce. The sweet flavour washed over her tongue. If the blonde hadn't been blushing before, she certainly was then, the light cast from a street lamp nearby clearly showing the crimson flushed along her cheek bones. Before Gail had enough time to formulate a collected, witty and cutting come back, Holly moved forward, pressing the blonde back against the car door, and kissed her. She felt Gail's hips press up into her own, the contact making her stomach twist. Holly pulled away slowly, but kept her body leaning against the blonde's.

"I don't need you to put a label on this or define it yet, but, I really, _really_ like you. All I need to know is that you like me too. That's enough for now." She breathed out for what felt like the first time since they'd kissed the night before. Gail stared back at her, blue eyes dark and wide.

"I like you too. A _lot_, in case you hadn't noticed. Now stop being a neurotic, overly emotional lesbian and _take me home_," she replied smirking, voice low and soft in a way that sent shivers up and down Holly's spine. The brunette nodded mutely, unable to stop herself from grinning as she walked Gail around to the passenger side and opened the door for her. Two weeks ago she never could have imagined that this stunning blonde cop with electric blue eyes would ever have returned her feelings.


	9. Chapter 9

_**A/N: **_**Hey guys, sorry for the long break between chapters, I've had some stuff going on at the moment which means I don't really have much time to write. Just a warning, the next couple of chapters will be slow out as well.**

**Thank you so much for all the sweet comments and reviews :) I always appreciate them.**

**Hope you guys like this chapter ;)**

Holly stood over her kitchen sink and took a deep breath in, hands clutching the cold metal taps. She could feel the blood pulsing through her veins, the sensation so strong she could focus on it entirely and the rest of the world faded away. She turned one of the taps until water came gushing out, fresh and cold, and she cupped it in her palms, splashing it onto her flushed face. How the blonde sitting in her living room could be _so_ oblivious to what a tease she was being was beyond her. Gail had opened the car door for her when they arrived back at her apartment and leant right in, tshirt hanging so that the brunette could see directly down to her more than ample cleavage, comfortably held by a lacy light blue bra. It's not like Holly had looked on purpose, they were directly at eye level, what was she supposed to do? She was only human after all. The blonde had had no idea, smiling and offering Holly her hand, pulling her out of the car. She had been too busy teasing her about something which Holly now for the life of her could not recall. Then sitting on Holly's lounge the blonde had kept touching her, so softly like a feather brushing against her skin; on the back of her hand, on her knee. Gail had told her when they first started talking that she wasn't a very touchy person, had told some story about an ex-boyfriend, the moral of which was that she not only hated PDA but wasn't fond of close intimate contact in private either. So the first time she'd held Holly's hand it had taken the brunette completely off guard, and every time since, when without any reason the blonde would touch her, she would wonder, was it because maybe she was different somehow? And then she'd think, _how up myself can I be_, and shake her head discarding the thought. Now she was wondering how someone who apparently used to dislike romantic contact was now unknowingly making Holly's heart race and her skin tingle just by touching her.

Drips of water rolled down the brunette's face, collecting and falling from the tip of her nose and the bottom of her chin into the metal sink. From the other room she heard Gail shuffling around, and then the sound of someone running their hand over piano keys. She bit her lip and picked her glasses back up from the kitchen counter, slipping them on over her damp face and walking around the corner. She found the blonde kneeling on the stool at the small piano around the corner, fingers resting on the keys.

"Do you play?" she asked as she approached, smiling as she caught Gail off guard and the other woman looked back at her, cheeks pink.

"The piano? God no, it was bad enough learning the tuba. I am _not_ musically inclined," Gail scoffed, shifting across and patting the spot next to her on the stool, "Come here band nerd, show me your stuff." The brunette laughed, and took a seat against her better judgement. It had been a while since she'd played, and there was a light layer of dust visible on the black keys. The blonde beside her flicked through old sheet music left sitting on top of the piano, some of them the same sheets Holly had first learnt to play on when she was eight years old. Gail paused as she came across a set of blank sheets that had been written on in pencil, and she looked across at the brunette with a triumphant smile plastered across her face.

"Well, what do we have here then?" she sung smugly, placing them on the music stand, "Did you write this yourself?" Holly couldn't help but laugh at this, creating a look of confusion on the blonde's face.

"_God no_," she mimicked Gail's earlier response teasingly, "I didn't have the sheet music for a song I liked, so I wrote it out by ear." She explained, which to her surprise seemed to impress the blonde just as much. Gail peered at the title scribbled messily at the top of the first page, _What If The Storm Ends_.

"I was gunna say, a little emo there Holls," she teased, and Holly felt a pleasant kind of jolt in her stomach at the new nickname she'd received. It was usually either Holly, or nerd where appropriate. She smiled to herself.

"So, are you going to play it for me then?" The brunette blinked, taken by surprise. She felt her mouth go dry.

"Oh, well. I mean, I'm pretty rusty. I haven't played in quite some time," she mumbled, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. Gail gave her a soft smile, and leant in closer, reaching up to adjust Holly's glasses, and brushing the brunette's cheek as she did so, leaving a hot sensation on her skin.

"Is that a nervous habit of yours, nerd?" she asked, though she obviously already new the answer, and the brunette nodded, "You tend to do it a lot. Do I make you nervous Holly?" Holly swallowed, _okay, she is definitely no longer oblivious_. Instead of answering she cleared her throat and placed her hands on the keys and started playing, stopping Gail from forming another witty line that would no doubt cause her to blush. The blonde just listened quietly, watching Holly's fingers run over the keys. The brunette didn't need the sheet music anymore, she had long since learnt the repetitive tune by heart, so it was only as she came to the last part of the song that Gail suddenly thought to change the page, flicking to the last one. It was the only one with lyrics written beneath the music.

_What if the storm ends, and I don't see you_

_As you are now ever again_

_A perfect halo of gold hair and lightening_

_Set you up against the planets last dance_

_Just for a minute the silver forked sky_

_Lit you up like a star that I would follow_

_And now its found us, like i have found you_

_I don't wanna run, just overwhelm me_

As she played Holly felt herself humming the words softly beneath her breath out of habit, a low vibration inside her mouth as the muted tune echoed against her tongue. As her finger pressed down on the last note she looked up for the first time and found Gail watching her, eyes dark and unguarded.

"Wow," the blonde breathed out, "You're really good." Holly shook her head, smiling rye-ly. Her timing had been that little bit off in the beginning section, which drove her crazy and stopped her from being able to accept any praise on the performance, but she knew that was the perfectionist in her.

"When I was in grade nine we had to write an original composition for music, and my teacher said to me, Holly you are one of the most technically advanced students I have had, you technique is perfect, but you have the musical creativity of a goat," she confessed suddenly. She had no idea why she was telling Gail this. She had never told anyone about that before, not even her father at the time, who was always calling her his little prodigy. The blonde was quiet, her expression altering slightly from an impressed smile to a small frown.

"I think it was both one of the nicest and at the same time, the meanest thing that anyone has ever said to me," she concluded, cheeks pink. It was silent for a moment, and then Gail placed her hand over Holly's where it still rested on the piano keys, squeezing it gently. Two of the keys pressed down under the weight of their hands, and a mellow note resounded, before slowly fading out.

"I think you are completely amazing. In every single way," the blonde told her firmly. Holly bit her lip to try and stop herself from grinning, but couldn't stop the corners of her mouth from turning up.

"Was that a compliment, Gail?" She asked, smirking. Gail scowled, rolling her eyes and withdrawing her hand.

"The last one you'll be getting for a while _now_, nerd," the blonde retorted, rising to her feet. Holly laughed and grabbed the other woman's hand to stop her from walking away, an electric jolt surging across her skin from the contact. When Gail looked back at her, soft blonde hair falling gently around her shoulders and face, she felt her heart thump. Standing up, she moved forward and at the same time pulled the other woman towards her, tightening her grip on the blonde's hand as she dipped her head and captured Gail's lips with her own. The blonde's mouth tasted sweet, the faint taste of cola on her tongue as she kissed back. Holly only meant it to be that, one deep kiss, but then she felt Gail's hands gripping her belt loops, and before she could think about it she was kissing the blonde again and again, slipping a hand up the back of the other woman's neck and tangling her fingers in her hair. She was pushing the blonde back, and they were moving down the hall, kissing, breathing heavily into each other's mouths. Suddenly they were at Holly's bedroom door, and Gail was reaching for the handle behind her back, pushing it open, and stumbling backwards into the dark room. The back of the blonde's knees hit Holly's mattress, and the kiss was finally broken as Gail's legs bent and she fell back to sit on the bed. The brunette could feel her breath heavy and fast, chest rising and falling quickly as she stood over Gail, looking down at the blonde's face in the dim lighting. Their hands were still interlinked, and she could feel both of their pulses against her palm, each as fast as the other's. Gail slowly pulled her hand free, wide blue eyes staring right back into Holly's, and took the hem of her t-shirt, slowly pulling it up, over her stomach, revealing fully that lacy blue bra, over her head, to let it fall onto the doona beside her. The blonde was biting her bottom lip, the first time Holly had ever seen her do so.

"Gail," the brunette breathed, brushing blonde hair out of the other woman's eyes, "Are you- I mean, this is, fast... even for _me_. So, for _you_. I would understand, if this was moving too quickly, and you weren't ready... Not, I mean, that I'm assuming that we were, going to, um- Because I wasn't. Assuming, that is." She could feel herself blushing profusely as she stammered her way through what was supposed to be a question, but came out an awkward statement. She had Gail shirtless on her bed, why was she trying to talk again?

"Nerd, take your shirt off," Gail replied, voice breathy and soft, placing her palms down on the bed and leaning back on her arms, accentuating her chest. Holly could feel her skin burning hot, running her tongue over her lips nervously. She suddenly felt slightly self conscious, standing in front of the blonde, with those eyes watching her carefully, waiting. She must have paused too long, because Gail sat back up, reaching forward, taking the bottom of Holly's shirt and pulling it up. The brunette felt cold air rush against her hot skin as her stomach was exposed, and then the t-shirt was being yanked over her head, almost catching on her glasses, which she had forgotten she was wearing. As it fell onto the floor beside her she leant down and kissed Gail softly, slowly pushing her back to lie down on the bed, their hips meeting, one of her legs sliding between the other woman's. The brunette could feel Gail nervously running her hands up and down her back, hovering over the clasp of her bra as though unsure, and then sliding back down to grip the curve of her hips instead as they kissed, long and deep, coming up for air and panting heavily. Holly pulled back and looked down into the blonde's eyes, smiling shyly.

"You can-" she swallowed, and then noticed that Gail was smirking slightly, as though she were mildly amused by Holly's nervousness, and she found herself smiling back, "take it off." She finished, a little more confidently. She watched the blonde blush, but then she reached up and undid the clasp so that the brunette's bra came loose, and she was able to slip the straps off and discard it to the side. As Holly leant in again to kiss the blonde, the other woman smiled up at her.

"You're gorgeous," Gail whispered, before kissing the brunette again.


End file.
